The Lost Sister of Harry Potter
by RemyRoo
Summary: AU.OC/CW, JP/LE. Cassie,the older sister of Harry, lived a good life and was blessed with a younger brother when she was five.On Halloween 1981 she lost everything she knew. Starting a new life in America, She learned to control her powers and live a normal life. When it's revealed that not everything was as it seemed on that halloween, can she return home and pick up the pieces?
1. Pregnant

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Cassandra. Everything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling.**

 **AN: This is my first fan fiction so please be patient. I already have the story outlined, so I'm hoping to finish this before the end of summer. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated! I hope you enjoy the story.**

CHAPTER ONE

Pregnant

It was Monday, the second Monday of their seventh year at Hogwarts and Lily was awake lying in her bed after a bout of morning sickness. She found out three weeks ago that she was pregnant.

It had been surprising to say the least. She had been feeling ill for a couple of weeks and it was her mother who first suggested she go see a doctor. Lily was certain that her mother already knew what was wrong and that thought had been confirmed by the lack of surprise on her mothers' part when the doctor gave the diagnosis.

Thankfully her mother took it well. She was disappointed, but her mother has always been understanding in those kinds of situations. Her biggest concern was whether or not Lily would be able to finish school while pregnant, and of course how Lily was going to raise her child at the age of seventeen.

Her dad had been more upset at the situation, although he wasn't necessarily angry with Lily. He blamed the boyfriend for impregnating his sweet little girl. Lily's sister had just added the information to the reasons her sister was a freak.

For the most part, they had understood. Unfortunately, they were currently the only people who were aware of the pregnancy. Lily hadn't been able to draw up the courage to tell anyone else. She was currently about seven weeks pregnant and she knew she couldn't keep it a secret much longer. Her best friend was already suspicious, after all Lily couldn't hide the morning sickness very well. She was just worried that word would get back to the baby's father, James.

It wasn't that she didn't want James to know; she was just worried about how he would react. They had only started dating five months ago and now she was pregnant with his child. She really cared about James and the last thing she wanted was to see him go running in the opposite direction, leaving her alone and pregnant.

That brought her to where she was currently. She was lying in her bed at 11:00am Monday morning during the second week of her seventh year. She had woken up early with another round of morning sickness and had opted to skipping class to try and get more rest, and to contemplate the meaning of life, love, and loneliness, of course.

It was nearly noon when Lily felt her bed dip and opened her eyes to see her best friend staring down at her looking concerned.

"Lily, What's going on? You've been sick for the last three days, you've been ignoring James since we got back, and you missed charms and transfiguration this morning."

Lily sat up and scooted towards her friend, drawing her legs up underneath her. She looked at her hands in her lap as her eyes started tearing up. "I'm pregnant," she said so quietly that Natalie had to lean in to hear her.

Natalie just stared at her in shock for a few moments. She opened and closed her mouth unsure of what to say.

"How far along?"

"About seven weeks," she responded finally looking at her friend.

"Well, how do you feel about it?" asked Natalie with a small smile.

Lily smiled and shook her head. "I'm sort of excited. I mean I'm nervous because I'm only seventeen and I'm having a baby, but I always knew that I would want one eventually and it's kind of exciting having life growing in me."

The two friends just stared at each other both smiling until Natalie broke the silence. "Well I think it's brilliant, I'm going to be an aunt! And in a few years when Remus and I get married and have kids then our children can play together." She looked away with a smile then suddenly looked back at Lily excited. "You know if you have a boy and my first child is a girl they could get married and then we'd really be family!"

Lily just laughed at her friend. She wished she had told Natalie sooner; She could always count on her to cheer her up. Even if she did live in her dream land a bit too much.

Natalie frowned slightly "so why have you been ignoring James? I'm assuming he's the father."

"Yes he's the father and I know I need to tell him. He does have the right to know, I'm just nervous that he's going to leave."

Natalie looked slightly exasperated "Lily you know James better than that!" she scolded. "He would never leave you for something like this, if anything I think he'll be excited once he get's over his shock."

"Yeah I suppose you're right. But how am I supposed to tell him?"

They both sat in silence for a while thinking

"I know," said Natalie "you could send him a baby doll with a note in it's hand saying 'would you like a real one? Because you are getting one! Love Lily' then you won't have to say anything and he'll know he's about to become a father."

Lily started laughing when they heard the door bang open and saw a shocked James Potter fall in. He stared at lily with his mouth gaping unable to form words.

"Y-you… y-y-you're… baby?" James stuttered with wide eyes.

Natalie stood up, smiled at Lily and gave her two thumbs up, then proceeded to pat James on the arm as she left the room.

Lily stood up and walked towards James, taking both of his hands in hers. She looked into his hazel eyes and said "Yes James. I'm pregnant. And I've been pregnant for about seven weeks. I'm due in April."

He just continued to gape at her so she looked away momentarily then rushed out "but I understand if you don't want to have anything to do with it. I'm going to keep it, but it's up to you if you want to be apart of its life and well – "

"Whoa Lily slow down," said James finally coming out of his shock. "Are you mad? Of course I want to be apart of its life and yours. I've liked you for a long time and even though we're a bit younger than planned, I have wanted to have kids with you." He hugged her tight with his nose in her hair and her head on his chest he said, "You won't go through this alone, I'll be there, and Nat will be there, and Moony, Paddy, and Wormy will be there. Oh and my parents and your parents. We'll be okay, this baby will be very loved."

Lily let a few tears fall as she pulled back from James beaming. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner, I was just worried."

He chuckled a little before pulling her back into a hug. He couldn't believe it; he was going to be a father.

* * *

The school year had passed by quickly as had Lily's pregnancy.

James had told Remus, Sirius, and Peter right away that he was going to be a father. Both Remus and Sirius had been ecstatic about the new addition to the 'family'. James had been convinced they actually thought the baby was theirs and not his. Peter had offered his congratulations, but he actually seemed slightly nervous about it.

The professors had also handled the news fairly well. McGonagall had given them a firm lecture about abstinence and purity, but afterwards had given them a rare smile and offered them her congratulations. Madame Pomfrey didn't even try to hide her excitement about being able to help deliver a baby. Due to the easiness of contraceptive charms, it wasn't common for a student at Hogwarts to get pregnant.

Professor Dumbledore had also offered his congratulations and informed them that most of the professors were excited about it because they believed Lily and James were meant for each other and had no doubt that the baby would grow up loved. He had also offered assistance for their last couple months of school, since the baby was going to be born at the end of April, they would need someone to watch it while they were in classes.

Two people who hadn't taken the news very well were James' parents, although that could have been because he waited three months until Christmas holidays to tell them. They had been more upset that James had informed all of the professors before coming to them, but in the end they were rather excited about the prospect of a grandchild.

By January, everyone was aware of Lily's pregnancy. There were mixed reactions throughout the student body, most of the Gryffindor's and Hufflepuffs were very supportive, while the Slytherines made comments about mudbloods and blood traitors and how they shouldn't be allowed to breed.

It was now April 4th and Lily was due on the 29th. Both James and Lily were beyond excited; James wanted to meet his baby while Lily was ready to not be pregnant anymore. The professors were also excited about the new baby that would be gracing the halls for the last couple months of school, as were many of the other students. The marauders (well James, Sirius, and Remus) had all been taking turns to make sure that Lily was comfortable. Even though Remus and Sirius were only going to be honorary uncles, they felt it was their duty to make the pregnancy go as smoothly as possible.

Everything had been going perfectly until a Thursday three weeks before Lily's due date. Lily had been walking back to Gryffindor tower by herself when she ran into Severus Snape. They hadn't been friends for a few years, but they had at least remained civil with each other.

"Hello Severus, How are you today?" Lily said when she saw him.

Severus stopped and looked at Lily with disgust before putting his nose in the air and walking past. He turned back and looked at Lily and said "I told you that Potter would be no good for you. Now look, you're pregnant with some disgusting creature that you'll be stuck with for the rest of your life."

Lily looked at him in shock, he may not have been pleasant but he wasn't usually that mean to her. "I'm sorry that you hate James, Severus. But I'm actually excited about this baby. It's not disgusting and James, my baby, and I will have a wonderful life together."

Lily turned and started to walk away, when she felt something hit her in the head. She lost balance and fell down a small flight of stairs before landing on her side at the bottom. She looked back up the stairs and barely heard Severus saying, "you should have chosen me," before falling into unconsciousness.

* * *

The Marauders were leaving the portrait hole while Sirius was pulling out the map to look for Lily.

"She said she was heading back to Gryffindor tower, but isn't there," said James waiting for Sirius and Peter to find her on the map. He knew he shouldn't be worried, but he couldn't help it! She was nine months pregnant and worrying about her came naturally.

"She's there!" said Peter pointing to a place on the map.

James looked at her name and noticed it wasn't moving and there wasn't anyone near her. He felt his heart rate increase as he began to worry, so he started sprinting in the direction of her name, with the other three following close behind him.

When he approached the staircase, he looked down to see her unconscious at the bottom. He yelled out and jumped down the flight of stairs kneeling by her head. He had tears in eyes as he touched her, making sure she was alive.

Sirius had sent Peter to run and get help while Remus tried to keep James calm. None of them dared move her incase her or the baby were hurt and they risked doing more damage.

When they heard footsteps, the three turned to find Professor McGonagall running towards them with Peter in her wake.

"What happened?" she said as she knelt down to check Lily's pulse, not even looking at the boys surrounding her.

"We don't know. She was like this when we found her," said Remus speaking for James who was staring at Lily in tears.

"Well she has a really faint pulse, we need to get her to the hospital wing so Poppy can figure out what happened." Said McGonagall while summoning a stretcher and levitating Lily onto it.

Professor McGonagall started running towards the infirmary with Lily floating beside her and with the four Marauders following closely behind. When they reached the infirmary all of them burst through with Sirius yelling for Madame Pomfrey.

"What is the meaning of all this ruckus?" Said Madame Pomfrey as she ran out of her office looking annoyed. "Oh dear, place her on this bed quickly," she said when she caught sight of Lily.

Madame Pomfrey waved her wand over Lily casting a spell to see what was wrong with her. When she read the results she paled turning to McGonagall asking her to send for Professor Slughorn and call Lily's and James' parents. She then turned to the four boys who all were looking worried and close to tears and asked Remus, Sirius, and Peter to leave the room, but allowed James to stay.

"The fall has caused Lily to go into early labor, I need to deliver this baby or both Lily and the child could die. You are welcome to stay here and hold her hand, but I am going to get this baby out with a Cesarean section, which means cutting open her stomach. Can you handle this?" Said Madame Pomfrey looking at James for confirmation. James shakily nodded his head and stood by Lily's head grabbing her hand.

Madame Pomfrey, with the help of Professor Slughorn performed the surgery on Lily while James kept his eyes on Lily's face, whispering words of comfort even though she was unconscious. After they removed the baby, Madame Pomfrey quickly rushed the baby over to the table, trying to get it to breathe while Slughorn magically healed Lily's wound.

James was still holding Lily's hand while looking at Madame Pomfrey with his baby. He hadn't heard it cry yet, and he knew that the baby had to cry to be sure that it was breathing. He had tears rolling down his face when he finally heard the little cry and relief flooded his body.


	2. Cassandra

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, everything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling**

 **AN: Hey everyone! I hope you enjoy the story so far. Just wanted to mention that James and Lily are a couple of years older when they have Harry than canon.**

 **Please leave a review and let me know what you think so far. I'd really appreciate some constructive criticism and let me know if there is anything you might like to see in the story!**

CHAPTER TWO

Cassandra

Madame Pomfrey turned back to him with a smile on her face and a little bundle in her arms. "James I'd like you to meet your daughter," she said holding out the bundle for James to take.

James let go of Lily's hand and reached out for his baby. He held her close and looked at her little face. She was small; you could tell she was a preemie, even though she was only a few weeks early. "Hi baby… I'm your dad. You're only a few minutes old and you've already given your old man quite a scare, but you're okay and I'm so glad you're here."

James was looking at his daughter with awe; he couldn't believe that he had helped create something like this. He thought she was perfect. She already had a little bit of read hair on her head and he was optimistic that she would have her mother's hair. He looked at Lily who looked like she was sleeping peacefully then looked to Madame Pomfrey.

"When will Lily wake up? She's going to want to meet her," He said looking back towards Lily.

"She was hit in the head quite hard and her body has been through a lot, but she should be awake soon," Poppy said smiling kindly at James. "Do you know what you would like to name her?"

"Cassandra. We decided on Cassandra Lily Potter if it was a girl." Said James smiling at his daughter who had just opened her eyes to reveal green eyes.

"You're going to look just like her aren't you?" He said to his daughter.

Madame Pomfrey had taken little Cassandra to get cleaned up, when both sets of parents arrived at the hospital wing. They came to where James was sitting with Lily, holding her hand and Rose and David immediately rushed to Lily's other side.

"What happened?" Said David looking panicked.

James looked up at Lily's parents and said "Somebody sent a curse at her and she fell. She went into early labor so they had to cut her open to get out the baby."

"Where's the baby James?" Said Charlus looking at his son with worry.

James turned and smiled at him "She's with Madame Pomfrey getting cleaned up."

"SHE?!" Dorea and Rose said with wide eyes and small smiles.

"She's okay then? And it's a girl?" asked Rose.

"Yes, it's a girl and she's fine, other than being a little on the small side."

The occupants in the room heard a small groan from the bed and turned to look at Lily who slowly opened her eyes.

"What happened?" she asked. She put her hand on her belly and her eyes got wide and filled with tears "My baby, where's my baby?"

"Shhh love she's okay, she's just with Madame Pomfrey. You had an accident and so they had to deliver her early, but she's okay and you'll be okay," said James while brushing the hair out of Lily's face.

Lily smiled and opened her mouth to say something when Madame Pomfrey came in holding a little pink bundle. She walked over to James and handed him the baby, then James handed her to Lily, who was looking at her daughter with wide eyes. "Lily, I'd like you to meet Cassandra Lily Potter, prankster in the making."

Lily gave him a quick amused glare before smiling at her daughter and kissing her forehead.

After the baby had been passed around and all the grandparents got a chance to hold her, Madame Pomfrey allowed Remus, Sirius, Peter, and Natalie in to see them.

All three of the guys simply stared at the baby in the pink blanket that James was holding while Natalie squealed and asked to hold her. After Natalie had her for a bit she handed the baby to Remus who smiled brightly and cooed at the little girl. Remus handed the baby to Peter, but she started crying instantly when Peter held her, so with a frown he gave her to Sirius.

Sirius just stared at his goddaughter in amazement. He couldn't remember ever seeing anyone so small, he was worried that he might break her. He sat in a chair beside James and Remus sat on his other side. All three boys just stared at her, each one silently promising to protect her and make life for her as great as they could.

* * *

Later in the day each of the professors managed to make their way to the infirmary to meet the new Potter child. Most of the professors just cooed at the little girl, while some offered their advice to the new parents. Some professors even brought baby gifts.

The strangest visit however came with Professor Dumbledore. He greeted the two new parents and took the baby from Lily as she handed her to him. His eyes widened when he held her and simply stared at her for a few moments before James interrupted his thinking.

"Professor, is everything alright?"

As soon as the headmaster had held the girl he had been surprised by the surge of magic he felt come off of her. Magic rarely ever showed itself at such a young age, and he had never felt such power radiating off of a baby.

"Everything is fine James, but I believe you have a very powerful little girl on your hands," said Dumbledore as he handed her to James.

James knew that Dumbledore was one of the few wizards who could feel magic, but he didn't quite understand what he was saying. How could he possibly tell how powerful she'll be in the future be while she is still a baby?

The professor congratulated the two of them and said one last goodbye to Cassandra before leaving the infirmary and leaving behind two confused parents.

* * *

 _Five Years Later – Godric's Hollow_

"Happy Birthday munchkin!"

Cassie blearily opened her eyes and looked at the person who woke her up. "Uncle Paddy!" she shouted flinging herself off her bad, flying a few feet before landing in his arms.

"How's my favorite goddaughter?"

"I'm your only goddaughter silly," she giggled "daddy say's that no body else in their right mind would make you godfather."

He gave her a hurt look "what? You don't love me anymore," he said with puppy dog eyes.

Cassie just giggled and kissed him on the cheek squirming a little bit trying to get down. He put her on the ground and she ran out of the room towards the kitchen with Sirius following closely behind.

Before she made it to the kitchen she was picked up and thrown into the air and caught by her laughing father. "Happy birthday princess. You look old, you must be what four now?" said James seriously.

Cassie laughed, "nooooo… I'm five," she said while holding up five fingers.

"No, no I'm pretty sure that you're four."

Just then Lily had come into the room and kissed her daughter on the forehead before hitting her husband on the shoulder. "If you are done being in denial of your daughters age, breakfast is ready."

The four of them sat down for breakfast while Sirius joked with Cassie and Lily and James talked about the plans for the day.

The last five years had been difficult. Both James and Lily found it strange that only five years ago their biggest concern was having a child while still in school. Now they were in the midst of war trying to keep each other and their family safe.

They had faced many struggles, mostly caused by the war. Death eaters killed Lily's parents when Cassie was only two and James' parents died less than a year ago. After Charlus and Dorea passed, James quit his job as an auror and both he and Lily dedicated their time towards the Order of the Phoenix. Although, since Lily was currently six months pregnant she never went out into the field. Instead, she would help heal people after missions or create potions.

Another struggle that they faced was Cassandra. They loved their daughter more than anything, but she had proven to be a rather difficult child. It wasn't that she was disobedient, she usually does what was asked of her without complaint and she was a relatively happy child. She was a mischievous little minx, but Lily would blame Sirius and James for that. No the problem that they had with her, were her powers.

She was a very gifted little witch and as she grew older they knew she would be powerful. Dumbledore, who had spent a lot of time working with Cassie, said that she could even be more powerful than Merlin was. Lily and James were happy about her power, it meant that she'd be able to take care of herself, but whenever she was emotional, she couldn't control it. There was constant accidental magic, things would explode when she was angry or excited, if someone made her angry and she pushed them, they would go flying across the room. It got to the point where they could no longer take her to muggle play grounds or pretty much anywhere with muggles. But, that was something that they were learning to deal with. They helped her learn to control her powers, and when she did control them they would both get really excited.

Everything else was going well for the Potter family and friends. Remus and Natalie were getting married that summer and Lily was due in July with her second child, all three of the Potters were ecstatic about the new addition to their little family. Sirius was still an auror and had yet to meet someone to settle down with. When anyone asked him about it he would say he's dedicated to his goddaughter and soon to be godson. So despite the fact that they were at war, life was good.

It was early afternoon when the doorbell rang and Cassie, who had been playing with Padfoot, jumped up and ran to the door with the dog bouncing behind her. Sirius transformed just before she reached the door and hopped in front of her.

"Munchkin, are you supposed to answer the door?"

Cassie smiled guiltily "no."

Sirius just smiled at her and turned and opened the door. The entire Weasley family had come to celebrate her birthday. Cassie led them all to the backyard where her dad was setting up the BBQ (with Lily hissing instructions). A few minutes later the small Tonks family also arrived. And just after them Remus, Nat, and Peter arrived.

Other than a few other order members, these were the people that James and Lily trusted with their lives (and their kids' lives). They didn't get to see each other often, but for occasions like birthdays and some holidays they would find a way to celebrate together.

"I think your daughter is excited to be a big sister," said Molly when she reached James and Lily. They all looked over to where Cassie was cooing at baby Ron.

Lily smiled "yeah she's been talking to her brother quite a bit and keeps asking me when he's going to come out."

"Bill was the same way when I was pregnant with the twins."

The three adults watched as Cassie ran over to where Charlie and Nymphadora were sitting and sat between them, looking up at Charlie with a flirty smile.

Lily couldn't help but laugh, "I think she has a crush on him."

James just frowned "what are you talking about? She's not allowed to like boys! She's only three!"

Lily raised an eyebrow "Are you still in denial about her age?"

James pouted and Molly and Lily laughed.

"Just wait James, in six years she'll be off at Hogwarts where you won't be able to keep guys from chasing after her," said Molly.

"Yeah, guys like you will be chasing her around, asking her out three times a day," said Lily with a smirk.

James pouted more "I've already decided she's not going to Hogwarts. We're locking her in a tower."


	3. Halloween 1981

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Anything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling.**

CHAPTER THREE

Halloween, 1981

 _October 31st 1981 – Godric's Hollow_

James was sitting at the table with a drink in one hand and his other hand running through his hair. He was worried and restless, not that this was unusual. They had put the house under the Fidelius charm a couple of weeks ago and since then his little family of four had been confined to the house, which is why he was restless. People like him weren't meant to be stuck in one place. But he was also worried, there had been a prophecy made about either Harry or Neville which caused a mad man to be after them, hence the reason they had to go into hiding.

He wasn't the only one feeling like this; tension had been high between him and Lily. She handled it much better than he did, but she still longed to see her friends, Natalie especially. They hadn't seen Natalie or Remus since the charm was placed over the house. James and Lily trusted them, but Sirius didn't and they did know that there was a spy in the Order and well… James wasn't willing to take the risk.

Cassie was also beginning to get very restless. She may have looked exactly like her mother did when she was six, but she was definitely her father in personality. She wanted to be outside and with kids her own age. As much as she loved her brother, he didn't really do very much. Now James and Lily had to deal with the little pranks that Cassie was setting up, trying to entertain herself.

 _Flashback_

James was staring at the couch. He had put his one-year-old son there. He distinctly remembered putting his son on the couch when he went to find his bottle. But now he was staring at the couch and his son was nowhere to be found.

"Harry? Where are you prongslette? Come on don't do this to your old man," said James looking under all of the furniture.

"James what are you doing?" said Lily when she saw James' head under the table.

James stood up and looked at his wife with wide eyes, still holding the bottle in his hand. "I-it… I it's not my fault?"

"Where is Harry?" said Lily, her eyes flashing

"He was on the couch, I just left him to get the bottle, now he's not here."

Lily's look turned to one of concern "the wards weren't broken, he's got to be here somewhere."

"I've looked everywhere, he's not in here. Let's go check the bedrooms."

They checked the nursery first and he wasn't there, then they checked Cassie's room and found that she was missing as well.

James frowned "Cassie? Where are you princess?"

Just then Cassie came out of the nursery and looked at her parents innocently.

"Where's your brother?" asked Lily warningly.

"I haven't seen him mummy," she said with puppy dog eyes.

James looked at her for a few moments before walking past her and into his room. He opened the chest at the bottom of his bed searching for something.

"Cass, where's my invisibility cloak?"

She just smiled at him innocently "I haven't seen it."

He was about to respond when he heard a small giggle come from the closet. He walked over to it and opened it, seeing nothing. He reached around carefully before feeling the silk-like fabric and pulling it off to reveal his son who was giggling looking at Cassie.

Cassie just pouted, "Harry, you gave it away!"

 _End Flashback_

Cassie really was a little minx and James knew he could only blame himself for it. He found himself feeling bad for his parents and all the trouble he caused them. Sure he usually thought Cassie's little pranks were funny, but sometimes they could be scary, like the time when Harry disappeared. He already knew that Harry was going to be the same way, especially if Cassie was going to be his role model.

Cassie absolutely adored her little brother. It was nice to see and James hoped that they would always stay close. She really was a great older sibling, she would help her mum take care of him and she would read to him and play with him. Harry had a huge effect on her. When Cassie was having an episode where her magic was running haywire, Harry could always get her to calm down enough to control it.

Now James was sitting there wondering what he was going to do tonight. He hadn't left the house in two weeks, but tonight there was an emergency meeting that Sirius, Lily and James had to attend. Of course the meeting only included the three of them and Dumbledore, but he had to find someone to watch his kids, which was problematic since there was only one other person who knew where the house was, Peter.

He was fine with Peter being there, he wasn't great with kids, but he cared about the two of them. Of course he would prefer Natalie and Remus being there, but that wasn't really an option. The only problem with Peter was that Cassandra didn't like him. She would tolerate him well enough when there were other people there, but she had always refused to let him watch them. Occasionally when he would hold her or talk to her, her eyes would flash red. He didn't know why she didn't like him, he would ask her, but she never could answer. Tonight however, he really didn't have a choice, so he called Peter who was due to floo over in five minutes.

James made his way out into the living room when he heard the Floo activate. "Hey mate. Thanks for coming on such short notice," said James when Peter stumbled in.

"It's fine," he said looking a little nervous.

Before James could comment on his nervousness Lily came in holding Harry with Cassie trailing behind her. When Cassie saw Peter her eyes flashed red and she frowned.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"Cassie, be nice," Scolded Lily. "Daddy and I have to go out tonight and Uncle Pete was nice enough to come and watch you and Harry."

Cassie looked at her dad with worry. "You're leaving? You can't leave us here with him! Please don't go," she pleaded.

James felt his heart drop when he looked at his daughter's worried eyes. Even Harry could tell something was wrong since he was frowning at Peter. Despite the small amount of dread he felt, they were already running late and Dumbledore said it was an emergency, so he walked over to his kids to say goodbye.

"Cassie, I know you don't want us to go, but we have to," he said picking her up. "We'll only be gone for a few hours."

He held her close and kissed her on the forehead. The floo lit up again and Sirius stumbled through the fire. Cassie jumped out of her dad's arms and ran to Sirius with tears in her eyes.

"Paddy will you please watch us?" She asked, with a small sob.

Sirius just looked at James and Lily who both looked hesitant at leaving their kids. Harry began to cry when he saw that Cassie was crying, so Lily was rocking him.

"I'm sorry munchkin, but I have to go to the meeting with your mum and dad. But we won't be gone for long, then I can come back and see you," said Sirius wiping the tears from her face.

"Cassie we really have to go now, be good to uncle Peter," said James. "Sorry Pete, I really don't know what's gotten into them, but once we're gone they'll be good."

James walked over and gave Harry a tight hug, kissing him on the forehead. Harry just looked at him pouting slightly "dada stay."

James shook his head "sorry prongslette, I'll be back I promise." He then turned back to Cassie and gave her another hug, even though she was glaring at him. "Come on Cass, don't be like that. I love you and I'll be back soon okay?"

Her face fell a little when she saw her dad's sad eyes "I love you too," she said in a small voice.

Both of the kids said goodbye to Lily and Sirius, who both hugged them tightly and the three of them left through the front door, ignoring the dread squirming in the stomachs.

When the door closed behind the adults, Peter turned to the two kids. "So, should we go get something to eat," he said with a smile.

Cassandra just glared at him before picking up her brother and walking into the kitchen. Peter followed them in and put some macaroni and cheese on the stove to cook.

When they were done eating, Cassie took Harry into the bathroom to get him cleaned up and dressed for bed. When they walked back into the living room, they saw Peter sitting on the couch looking nervous; his eyes kept flickering to the window as if he were expecting something.

"I'm going to put Harry to bed," Cassie told Peter who simply nodded.

She grabbed Harry's hand and walked him into his nursery. She had tears in her eyes; she couldn't help shake the feeling that something was really wrong. She had considered just grabbing Harry and leaving the house, but she didn't know where they would go. She just really wanted her parents here.

She sat with Harry whose lip was quivering. "Cassie sad," he said looking at his sister.

She smiled "I'm okay Harry and I'll make sure you're okay too."

It was then that they heard a crash and a cold voice talking to Peter. "Where is he?" it said. They didn't hear Peter respond, so Cassie could only assume he pointed. She picked up Harry and put him in a cupboard, throwing the invisibility cloak over him.

With tears in her eyes she said "Harry we're going to play a game okay? You need to be quiet and stay in here no matter what you hear okay? Don't come out until you hear mum or dad."

She then closed the door to the cupboard and turned to run out of the room but found her path blocked by a tall figure in a black cloak.

"Where is the boy you little brat?" the cold voice said.

Cassie had tears streaming down her face, but she stood her ground. "He's not here, I already got him out."

"Where is he?" he demanded pointing his want at her face.

"You can't have him!" She shouted, her eyes flashing red and the glass in the room breaking.

He backed her up so she was standing right in front of the cupboard. He saw her eyes glance towards the cupboard and then back at him.

"Move aside you stupid girl and I will spare your life."

"No! You can't have Harry."

"I said step aside."

"Not Harry, please not Harry," she begged through her tears.

"You stupid child, I had use for you, but I suppose I'll just get rid of you too."

Cassie saw a flash of green light, before the world around her went black.


	4. Mourning

CHAPTER FOUR

Mourning

James and Lily were frustrated. They were told that this meeting was an emergency, but it didn't appear to be that big of a deal. They had arrived at Dumbledore's office and were waiting for ten minutes before Dumbledore himself walked in. They talked for just over an hour; apparently one of Dumbledore's spies had information that Voldemort was choosing to go after Neville, since he was a pure blood. They talked for a while about what to do; Dumbledore didn't think they should come out of hiding, because it may be a trap. In the end Dumbledore ended up filling them in about everything going on in the order and said that he still didn't know who the spy was.

James and Lily left the meeting annoyed with Sirius following closely behind them. They were walking towards Hogsmeade, where they would be able to apparate back to Godric's Hollow.

"I don't get why he couldn't have just said all of that in a letter," said James.

"Well he couldn't have sent it in a letter, but it definitely wasn't an emergency and he could have come to our house and told us," responded Lily.

Sirius, being the voice of reason, said, "it really doesn't matter now, let's just get back to those kids of yours. They will be excited to see you home early."

James frowned, "why do you think Cassie hates Pete so much? Even when she was a baby she would cry when he held her. I just don't get it."

Lily grabbed his hand "I don't know, but I think it might be a good idea to not have him watch them anymore. I love Pete, but I don't want Cassie to be uncomfortable."

James sighed, "yeah I agree. I really think we should tell Moony and Nat where we live so they can babysit. Cassie adores them both and Harry can't get enough of his 'Mooey.'"

Sirius looked like he disagreed, but didn't say anything. It wouldn't hurt to have them know, they weren't secret keepers so if he were a Death Eater it wasn't like he would be able to tell Voldemort.

When they left the wards of Hogwarts they each apparated a block away from the Potter house in Godric's Hollow. They all walked in comfortable silence before they turned to look at their home.

They all stopped in their tracks when they saw that the Fidelius charm was broken and the house was visible. The house looked like it had been blown up and the dark mark was hovering above the house.

Sirius just stared at the ruined house with his mouth agape and his hands in his hair as though he was going to pull it out. He had tears welling in his eyes. He was frozen; he couldn't believe what he was seeing. His two little godchildren were in there and Death Eaters had been there.

"No," Lily said quietly with tears streaming down her face. She also couldn't get her limbs to move, but she had dread in her stomach. She didn't want to go inside, she didn't want to see what happened to her children.

When James saw the house he was instantly filled with dread and regret. All he could see was his daughter's tear-stained face when he left the house. He could hear his baby telling him to stay. He was the first to get a grip on the situation and he immediately pushed open the gate and ran into the house.

James running towards the house seemed to snap Sirius out of the trance that he was in. He sent a patronus to Dumbledore and ran after James with Lily following closely behind him.

James entered the house and immediately began running from room to room calling out for both of his children and checking under the furniture to see if they were there. Lily and Sirius were doing the same in the other rooms. They had checked nearly every room and had seen no sign of their children. The last room to check was the nursery, which was the one that looked the most destroyed. The three of them stood outside the door; afraid of what they would see when they went in there.

James opened the door and saw that the room looked like it had been blown up, but he didn't see either of his children. One of the walls was blown away and there was a black cloak and a wand on the ground, which looked like they must have belonged to a Death Eater.

The three adults were panicking. Their kids could be anywhere, they could have been taken or they could be dead. They heard someone else enter the house and call out for them.

"We're up here!" shouted Sirius.

James walked into the room cautiously, "Cassie? Harry?" he said with tears streaming down his face. He looked in the crib and the closet when he heard a little sob. Dumbledore had just entered the room and all four occupants paused their looking.

"Harry? Is that you? Come on bud, where are you?" said James.

"Dada," said a little voice coming from the cupboard.

James rushed to the cupboard and opened it to see his son sitting on the bottom of it with a gash on his forehead and the invisibility cloak lying around him.

Harry had tears streaming down his face when James grabbed him and held him close. "Cassie… Cassie… Cassie…" He repeated over and over again looking around the room hoping to see her.

James walked over to the others and handed Harry to Lily who immediately held him close and cried into his hair. James was looking at Dumbledore with a lost expression.

Dumbledore turned to Lily, "Lily, I might be able to see what happened if I can look into his mind. Is that alright?"

Lily nodded turning Harry to look at the headmaster. Dumbledore locked eyes with Harry and it was several minutes before he looked away. When Dumbledore exited Harry's mind and looked at James, The ever-present twinkle was completely absent from his eyes. He looked like he had aged nearly fifty years and looked at James and Lily with sorrow.

"I'm so sorry," he said grabbing James' shoulder. "Harry saw it, she's gone."

James let out a strangled sob as his legs collapsed beneath him. Lily had backed into the wall and sunk to the ground, still holding Harry tight as she cried into his hair.

Sirius looked at James and Lily before anger flashed through his eyes and he growled "Peter! He was the spy. I'm going to kill him. The bloody coward." He started walking out of the room when Dumbledore grabbed him.

"James and Lily need you Sirius. If you go after Peter you will get yourself thrown into Azkaban. We will find him and make sure he is locked up, but right now your best friend needs you."

Sirius looked back at James, his eyes softening. He walked back to James and sat beside him putting his arm around him as he let his own tears fall.

The four of them cried. Three of them cried for the little girl who they loved. The little girl who was always breaking rules and making people laugh. Dumbledore cried for the powerful little girl who gave her life for her brother.

* * *

"I want to see it," said James standing in Dumbledore's office with Lily and Sirius.

It had been three days since the incident on Halloween. Three days of mourning. Sirius had been responsible for taking care of Harry, since neither James nor Lily was in any shape to care for him. They were all currently living in Potter manor and only left when Dumbledore called them to his office.

James had asked to see the memory that Harry had of that night. He wanted, no needed, to see what happened after they left.

"James, the memory isn't a good one. Harry watched your daughter die." Dumbledore knew he was being harsh, but he was worried that viewing the memory would break James even more than he was.

James just glared at him "I need to see that memory."

Dumbledore sighed and retrieved his pensieve from the cupboard. He withdrew the memory and placed it into the liquid, swirling it with the tip of his wand.

James, Lily and Sirius all stood up to enter the Pensieve. Dumbledore opted to staying out incase Harry, who was asleep on the couch, needed something.

James, Lily and Sirius entered the Pensieve:

The three of them watched as Peter made them dinner and then watched Cassie clean up Harry and got him ready for bed. They all watched with a small smile when Cassie and Harry sat on the floor, both gaining comfort from each other.

They heard the door burst open and saw Cassie pick up Harry and put him in the cupboard, throwing the invisibility cloak over him and telling him to stay quiet.

The cupboard hadn't been closed completely, so they were able to see Voldemort enter the room and Cassie stand up to him trying to get him to stay away from her brother.

When they saw Voldemort cast the killing curse and the green light hit Cassie in the chest all three of them collapsed to the floor crying, but not looking away.

Voldemort approached the cupboard and opened it, but didn't see anything. He reached in there and pulled of the invisibility cloak that was around Harry. He stared at him momentarily while Harry looked down at his sister who was lying on the floor like she was asleep. His eyes welled with tears but before he could cry Voldemort pointed his wand at him and muttered the killing curse. There was another flash of green light and they all watched as the spell rebounded off of Harry and hit Voldemort who fell, his soul leaving his body and flying out of the room.

The memory ended and all three of them landed on the floor of Dumbledore's office. They were all still in tears, but they all looked at Dumbledore confused.

"H-how? H-how is H-harry alive?" stuttered Lily.

Dumbledore sighed and went to sit behind his desk, while the other three sat in chairs in front of his desk.

"I believe that when Voldemort killed Cassandra, an ancient spell was activated which allowed Harry to be protected. Because Cassandra was willing to die for Harry, she provided protection to him from Voldemort. If or when Voldemort returns, Harry will be protected by the sacrifice Cassandra made," Dumbledore said looking at them sadly.

The three of them nodded, but stayed silent thinking about what they had just learned. Cassie was just a child and she had willingly given her life for her little brother.

Dumbledore broke the silence "I know this is a very hard time for you, but we need to decide what we are going to do next."

When he had gathered all of their attention, he continued. "Currently the entire wizarding world is celebrating the downfall of Lord Voldemort and young Harry has been declared The-boy-who-lived. The rumor is that James, Lily, and Cassandra died on Halloween and Harry is the only one to ever survive the killing curse," he paused thinking of what to say.

"I do not believe that Voldemort is dead. In the memory you saw his soul leave his body, which tells me that one-day he will be back. There are also still many of the death eaters out there. I believe it would be beneficial if the wizarding world stayed under the impression that James and Lily died."

"You want us to use this to fake our death?" asked James incredulously.

"I know it's not ideal, but you are both a target and you will remain a target while people are still loyal to Voldemort. As far as they are concerned it is your fault that Voldemort is dead," said Dumbledore trying to convince them.

"You wouldn't have official death certificates, I know people in the ministry you would keep your life a secret. You may remain at Potter manor and if anyone asks we can say that Harry went to live with muggle relatives."

James and Lily just looked at each other contemplating. They didn't see anything wrong with the idea. They would be able to go out again as long as they were disguised, not that they wanted to. They agreed, but on the condition that they would decide who knew the truth.

Dumbledore agreed and the meeting concluded.

* * *

When the three adults, plus Harry returned home, Sirius changed Harry's nappy and put him into bed, then went and joined Lily and James on the couch.

They sat in silence for nearly fifteen minutes before James broke it.

"She didn't like Peter," He said, letting tears fall down his face. "She never liked him, I think subconsciously she knew that he was a traitor."

Lily let out a sob, while Sirius looked troubled.

"I'm so sorry James. This is my fault, I was wrong. That rat was the spy, not Moony. I should have just been secret keeper myself," said Sirius.

James looked at his friend while he held his wife in his arms. "It's not your fault Paddy. We both trusted him, I never thought that he would be capable of turning a baby over to Voldemort."

"God I should have listened to her," said James sobbing now. "She didn't want us to leave, she asked us to stay. She didn't want us to leave her with Peter and now she's gone. I'll never see her again, my little girl is gone."

Sirius got up and sat on the other side of James and the three of them just held each other, sobbing.

"We need to tell Moony and Nat. Tell them that you're alive. I need to apologize to him for suspecting him," said Sirius.

"Dumbledore wanted us to wait a couple more days, then we'll tell them. They'll be the first ones we tell," said Lily when she stopped crying.

They spent the rest of the night remembering the Life of the little girl they lost all of them filled with sorrow and regret.

* * *

Two days had passed since their discussion with Dumbledore. The wizarding world had been notified of the deaths of the three Potters. James, Lily, and Sirius were planning on visiting Remus that evening when Fawkes appeared and dropped a note onto Sirius' lap.

Sirius opened the note, both Lily and James looking at him curiously while feeding Harry.

Sirius paled and stood up quickly "I have to go, don't worry I'll be back," he said to his two friends, running out the door before they could call him back.

James and Lily just stared at each other wondering what could have gone wrong. They didn't have to wait long when Dumbledore arrived with Madame Pomfrey and Sirius carrying a very injured young woman. He placed her on the couch and both James and Lily were able to get a good look at her.

"Natalie!" shouted Lily running to her side, kneeling beside her while Poppy cast diagnosing spells on her.

Sirius looked at James with a grim expression "Moony wasn't there."

James paled and looked back to Natalie.

Thirty minutes had passed when Natalie opened her eyes and looked at her surroundings. She gasped when she saw James and Lily.

"B-but you're d-dead!" she stuttered.

Lily grabbed her hand "no Nat, we were going to tell you tonight. James and I, we weren't there when Voldemort came. We lied to the wizarding world, we thought it would be better if we stayed dead."

"Thank Merlin," she said squeezing her friends hand. She looked to Sirius "Remus, he wasn't there when the attack happened. He was at the ministry asking about Harry."

Sirius and James looked at each other before James disguised himself and they both headed for the door.

"We'll go wait for him to get back and we'll bring him here," said James.

James and Sirius apparated to the little cottage that Remus and Natalie shared, but when they got there they both felt their hearts stop. The scene was reminiscent of the scene that they came home to only five nights previously. The cottage was a mess and the dark mark was above the house.

James leaned over and emptied the contents of his stomach. "I can't handle this. Cassie… Moony can't be gone."

Sirius took one look at James and headed for the door. As soon as he entered he knew that something was wrong. When he had first arrived there to get Natalie, there hadn't been a dark mark and there hadn't been any blood, other than the blood covering Natalie. Now blood covered the floor and the walls, and he could only assume that it was his friends'. After searching the house he left, walking back to James.

"Let's go back and get Dumbledore," he said and grabbed James and apparated back to Potter Manor.


	5. Ten Years Later

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, everything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling**

CHAPTER FIVE

Ten Years Later

 _April 10th 1991 – Potter Manor_

It was early in the morning when Lily walked into the kitchen to make her family breakfast. James was sitting at the table holding a cup of coffee and looking at a picture. He didn't even look up when he his wife entered; he just stared at the picture sadly.

"Have you been out here all night?" Lily asked

James looked up with red rimmed eyes, "she'd be sixteen today." He looked back down and rubbed his finger over the picture of his laughing six-year-old daughter.

Lily sighed and sat beside him grabbing his hand. "I miss her too," she said, teary eyed.

They both sat in a comfortable silence, both thinking about their oldest child. It had been 9 and ½ years since Cassie died and the loss of Cassie hit all of them very hard. James fell into a depression, blaming himself for her death. Harry would wake up with nightmares, asking for his sister. But, as time went on, they learned to manage without her. They still missed her terribly, but they were able to gain control and move on with their lives.

A lot had happened since then. They no longer had to worry about the threat of Voldemort or death eaters, although the wizarding world still believed James and Lily to be dead. There had been an explosion at Lestrange manor several years' back and several death eaters were killed, while the others were caught and sent to Azkaban. For the most part the wizarding world was living peacefully.

Six months after that Halloween, James got a job teaching history of magic at Hogwarts. He hadn't wanted to go back to being an auror since he didn't want his family to be targeted again. So when Dumbledore approached him about Binns needing to retire, he accepted it.

Lily had worked for a short while as a potions mistress in a small store in Diagon Alley, but once she and James decided to have more kids, she opted to being a stay at home mom instead.

Sirius continued working as an auror, although he went through periods of sullenness. He felt guilty and the guilt never seemed to go away. He constantly felt guilty about the loss of his goddaughter and the loss of Remus. They never found him that day that Natalie had been attacked. He simply disappeared. They had searched for Remus for months, Sirius leading the search, but after a few months they were forced to give up and declare him dead. Although Sirius never gave up the search, he still looked for his friend whenever he got the chance.

Natalie also had a hard time losing Remus, like anyone would. She had moved into Potter manor after the attack and when they declared Remus dead, she decided to never leave. Not that neither James nor Lily minded. Like Sirius, she still had hope that he might be out there somewhere. After all, they never did find his body. It wasn't unusual for the bodies of the dead to disappear and never be found. Many people were forced to hold funerals for their loved ones without anything to bury. They had never found Cassie's body or Remus'.

Lily and James were brought out of their thinking when three children stumbled into the room, two of them arguing.

"You turned her hair green! I hate the color green," cried Emma, glaring at her brother.

"She looks better that way! It's much better than her stupid red hair," Liam responded.

"Kid's enough," snapped Lily "no fighting. Not today."

All three kids looked at their parents surprised. James had his head in his hands, not looking at his children, while Lily was holding the picture with tears in her eyes.

The two youngest mumbled an apology before taking their seats at the table.

James stood up, kissed his wife on the cheek and left the room.

Lily stood up, leaving the picture on the table, and made her way into the kitchen to prepare a quick breakfast.

When his mum left the room, Harry picked up the picture and sighed. It hit him that today was her birthday. His parents didn't talk a lot about her; it usually hurt them too much to remember. But every year on this day and on Halloween they would both become distant. Most of the stories that he knew about her had come from Uncle Sirius or Aunt Nat.

Harry couldn't remember his older sister, but he still felt loss without her there. The only thing he could remember from that night was a flash of green light, but Uncle Sirius had told him that Cassie died to save him. Of course Liam and Emma didn't know her at all, they hadn't even heard very many stories about her.

Liam was born in 1983 and was currently seven; he'd be eight in November. He was like James in the area of pranks and usually picked on his younger sister. He would try to pick on Harry, but Harry was to cleaver for him and almost always knew what he was doing before he did it. He had his mum's red hair and his dad's hazel eyes.

Emma was a couple of years younger than Liam, born in September 1985, making her five almost six. She was a mix of both her parents' personality wise, but looked much more like her father. She had long messy black hair and hazel eyes.

The three of the kids spent the day together quietly. They could all tell that it was a rough time for their parents and so they tried to get along and stay out of their way. James had spent the majority of the day in his office thinking about Cassandra, while Lily spent her time cleaning and trying to get her mind off of Cassandra.

Unfortunately Lily couldn't stop thinking. She couldn't stop thinking about that little girl who shamelessly flirted with a boy five years older than her. She couldn't stop thinking that her oldest daughter never got the chance to experience love. She never got to go to her first dance or on her first date. She never had her first kiss. She'd never get married or have children. So Lily gave up her cleaning and wept for her little girl who would be sixteen today.

* * *

 _Florence, OR, U.S.A._

She was sleeping peacefully thinking about a red haired man with blue eyes when she felt something jump on her bed and start to lick her face.

"Yuck! Go away bumper," she said pushing the husky off of her bed. She heard chuckling coming from the door and opened her eyes to see her uncle standing in the doorway.

He walked towards her and sat on the bed while she just glared at him.

"Happy birthday cub," he said smiling kindly.

Her face lit up when she remembered that it was her birthday. "Hey, since it's my birthday does that mean I get to skip school?"

"Nice try kiddo, but no," he said firmly "but I did make you you're favorite for breakfast… Chocolate chip pancakes. So get up, get dressed and we'll eat before school." He smiled, kissed her on the forehead and left the room.

She sighed and rolled out of bed then walked to the closet and picked out her clothes. She took a quick shower and got dressed before looking at herself in the mirror. Her uncle would always tell her how much she looked like her mother, but she didn't agree. She remembered her mother being much prettier. It wasn't that she thought herself ugly, but her mum had been gorgeous.

She was shorter than her mum had been, she was only about 5'4" and she had a small chest and small bum. But she did have her mother's long red hair, vivid green eyes, and a dusting of freckles right across her nose. She remembered her dad used to tell her that's where the angels had kissed her before she was born.

She missed her parents terribly. She had been six when they died, so even though she didn't remember a ton about them, she remembered certain things. She knows she had been there when they died, but she couldn't remember it. The entire night of their death was missing from her memory; all she could remember was having breakfast with her parents and then waking up in a cold dungeon in Lestrange manor.

She had been locked up for a few days before Moony was thrown into the cellar. Remus had been surprised to find her alive, but had also been relieved. He had been the one to inform her of her parents' deaths and held her as she cried. Then just a few hours after he got there he was given evidence of Aunt Natalie's death. They had been in the manor for three years, both drawing comfort from each other. After three years they had finally managed to escape. They tried going back to England for Harry, but death eaters caught up to them and they were forced to run, eventually they changed their name and made it to America.

They started a new life here, Remus worked as a history teacher at the high school. Both of them lived as muggles, even though Remus taught Cassie everything he knew about magic.

The hardest thing about being away from England was being away from Harry. Cassie always wondered what her little brother was doing and how he was holding up. When they escaped they had learned that he was famous and living with Sirius, so they knew he was safe. They wanted to go back to them, but it was just too dangerous. So they decided to return after Cassie had finished with her schooling and was competent enough with magic to get out of any sticky situation.

She sighed again and went downstairs to find Remus drinking coffee and reading the paper. He looked up when she came in and smiled brightly while offering her a small stack of pancakes.

"I though when you get off work tonight you could have a few friends over for dinner," he said "I know it isn't a party, but we can have a party this weekend if you want."

She just smiled at him "dinner will be fine, I really don't need a party."

Just then they heard a knock at the door, Cassie jumped up to answer it.

When she opened the door, a tall boy with dark brown hair and pale blue eyes scooped her up into a hug and began singing 'Happy Birthday.'

Jon was one of her best friends. He lived a few houses down the street and they had been friends ever since she and Remus moved there when she was eleven. He came from a family of wizards and he was one of the few people who knew about Cassie and Remus' true identities. Everyone else knew them as Richard and Arianna Black.

After Jon put her down he continued into the house and shook Remus's hand. "Remus, I hope you don't mind, but I was hoping to drive your niece to school."

Remus looked at him suspiciously, "you can drive her, but I had better see both of you in history 3rd period."

"Great," said Jon smiling brightly. He grabbed Cassie's backpack, which was by the door and proceeded to drag her out of the house.

When they got to the car, Cassie realized that Jon hadn't come alone, not that she minded. Both of her friends Lucy and Zach were in the car looking rebellious.

"Okay, what are we doing that I'll probably get grounded for later?" asked Cassie when she everyone was in the car and they were driving away.

Lucy just laughed, "Oh Arianna, you know us too well. We've decided that a little birthday treat was in order, but don't worry, we'll be back for you uncle's class."

Both Lucy and Zach were muggles, however Zach was aware that wizards and witches existed. Zach and Jon had been dating for a year now, and Jon had informed him of the wizarding world just a couple months ago. Neither of them knew that Arianna was magical however, and neither of them knew her real name was Cassie. She knew she would have to tell them eventually, especially if Jon and Zach became serious, but she was hesitant. The more people who knew about her, the more likely it were for death eaters to find them.

The four friends spent the morning at a small cupcake shop. They had gotten lattes and cupcakes in celebration of her birthday, and managed to make it to school by 3rd period, although Remus still looked suspicious when they all sat down with huge grins.

The rest of the school day was a bore and work wasn't great either. She really loved Florence. It was a cute little town right along the beach, but the thing with small towns is you always see the same people. It can sometimes be nice knowing everyone in the town, but the gossip in small towns is incredible. Nothing that you do is private, which just makes it even harder for Remus and Cassie to keep their secret.

After work, Cassie had her friends over and they had a nice dinner celebrating her sixteenth birthday. Yes, even though she had lost everything, she was happy. But it was days like this that she couldn't help thinking about her baby brother. Well, she supposed he'd be nearly eleven now. He'd be starting Hogwarts in September and she found herself slightly envious. She had never gotten the chance to go, but she was happy for him. She just wished she could be going with him this year.


	6. Nightmares and Letters

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, anything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling**

CHAPTER SIX

Nightmares and Letters

 _She was standing in a large open room, surrounded by people in black cloaks and masks. She was in the center of the room facing a man who was badly beaten and shaking, looking at her with pleading eyes._

" _Do it Keira, before I lose my patience," said a tall woman with long black hair and heavily lidded eyes._

" _Now, now Bella. Give the girl a chance, I'm sure she'll give in soon enough," said one of the masked figures._

 _She just glared at them both "I won't! I won't hurt him."_

" _I'm done playing these games with the little brat!" Shouted Bellatrix. "I've been waiting far too long. We've trained her we've used every method, but she still won't give in."_

 _Bellatrix walked up to the small, skinny, redheaded child, and looked down at her in disgust. "You will do this, no more holding back your powers. He is a worthless man who disobeyed and he must be punished. Now, cast the curse."_

" _He didn't do anything, I won't hurt him," she responded holding her ground._

 _Bellatrix let out a grunt of frustration and grabbed the girl by the neck of her robes._

" _If you won't do it now, I will find a way to make you." She dropped the girl and turned to the wall, thinking._

" _Lady Lestrange," said one of the hooded figures stepping forward. "The Werewolf, he has been helping her. I have heard him, in the cellar talking to her about her family. He may be the reason we can't break her." He bowed slightly stepping back into his place in the circle._

 _Bellatrix looked towards the girl "well I do believe that werewolf no longer has any use._

 _She looked up in surprise and fear. He was all she had left and she wouldn't let them take him._

" _What do you say Keira? If you torture this man, I will spare the werewolf a little longer, if you don't, I will kill the werewolf and give you the honor of watching._

 _She could feel her eyes well up with tears, and she looked at the man. "I won't," she said quietly._

" _Dolohov, go get the werewolf and bring him here."_

 _Bellatrix then turned to the man sitting on the ground in front of the little girl. "Now child, you're dear friend's death will not be as quick as this one._ Avada Kedavra," _she said pointing her want at the man._

 _She closed her eyes as she saw the green light heading towards the man. When she opened them he was laying on the ground with his eyes open and lifeless._

 _She looked towards the doors and saw the weakened form of her uncle being dragged into the room. They made eye contact and he gave her a small smile, before he was hit with a curse and landed on the ground screaming._

 _Bellatrix was walking towards him with a silver knife. "Tell me Keira," she said in a sickly sweet voice "do you know how silver affects a werewolf?"_

 _She looked at the man who was lying on the ground on the other side of the room; he had stopped convulsing and gone silent, still trying to catch his breath._

 _Bellatrix took the knife and touched him on the cheek and he yelled as his skin started blistering from the burn._

" _It kills them, painfully," said Bellatrix, looking at the child with a sadistic glint in her eye. She approached Remus with the knife again when the little girl yelled out._

" _Stop it!" She shouted, her eyes flashing red._

 _Several death eaters surrounding her, made their way to grab her as she started walking forward, but the minute hey touched her they were thrown back and hit the wall, landing on the ground unconscious._

" _What are you going to do child? Hurt me?" asked Bellatrix touching the man with the knife again._

"No, no stop don't hurt him."

 _Bellatrix laughed and continued to burn the man who had protected her for the last three years._

 _Remus was talking to her although she could barely hear what he was saying "wake up Cass, please wake up," he begged._

 _Bellatrix pointed her wand at him, muttering the Cruciatus curse._

Screaming filled her ears, but she barely registered that it was hers. She could feel somebody shaking her, but couldn't tell who it was or how she got there.

"Cassie, it's just a dream, wake up."

The voice sounded familiar and soothing, she followed it making her way back to consciousness. She cracked her eyes open and saw that she was in a dark room, lying on a comfortable bed.

She immediately sat up and looked around frantically when she was pulled into a hug. "Shhh it's okay, it's just me Moony, you're okay now," whispered Remus, stroking her hair trying to get her to calm down.

They sat there for a while in silence, other than the small sounds of Cassie sobbing into her uncle's shirt.

After a while she found herself getting tired again and she felt herself drift off in the safety and comfort of his embrace.

* * *

Remus was worried. It had been a long time since Cassie had awoken with nightmares. For the first few years after their escape, she would have them consistently, but as time went on and she began to feel safe they became fewer and fewer. She had only had one in the last couple of years, well that is until recently.

She had woken up every night for the last week with nightmares. A couple of which were about nights locked up in imprisonment, but others, involved her watching her brother being murdered.

He wondered if that was what brought on the nightmares. She had been thinking about him a lot recently, especially since he would be starting Hogwarts in three months. If she was worried about him, it could have caused her to remember all of the traumatic and terrifying things she was forced to witness and bear.

He felt so useless in these situations. All he could do was wait for her to yell out in the middle of the night and then rush to her side and try to wake her up. He wished that he could brew some dreamless sleep potion, but he had always been useless at potions and he would probably end up poisoning her by accident.

He was brought out of his thinking when Cassandra came down for breakfast. She didn't look well; it was obvious that she hadn't been sleeping by the bags under her eyes.

She sat by him at the kitchen table and silently grabbed a muffin and a cup of coffee that he had laid out.

Remus cleared his throat "Cass, I know it's early, but we need to talk about your dream last night." He stared at her while she was picking at her muffin.

"Was it about Harry again?"

She looked up and sighed, "No, it was about the night we escaped."

Remus just nodded, that was one of her most common dreams. "Cassie, Do you know what might be causing these dreams to come back again?"

She shook her head, but didn't respond.

He sighed and looked at her with concern "Cassie, I know you hate talking about it, but we need to figure out what's causing this so that we can fix it. Have you been worried about anything?"

Her eyes were teary and she looked worried. She looked back down at her coffee and whispered quietly "Malfoy."

Remus was surprised, he had expected her to not know what she was worried about and he certainly hadn't expected her to be worried about Lucius. He was a death eater that was present at the manor, but she had had fewer run-ins with him than with the other death eaters.

"Cassie, we aren't in England anymore, he has no idea where to find you and he won't be able to hurt you."

"It's not that," she said not making eye contact. "He had a son. I remember that Malfoy had a son, a little blonde kid. Well he was the same age as Harry. I had met him a few times, and I actually kind of liked him even though the kid was stuck up." She sighed finally looking up "I know that I don't have to worry about death eaters here and recently I haven't had to worry about Harry, because he's safe with Paddy, goodness knows where. But now, he's going to Hogwarts and so will Malfoy's kid. Malfoy was a death eater and they were all after Harry before, what if they go after him again?"

He should have known. Cassie was rarely ever frightened for herself. Even when she was little she would make sure others were okay before thinking of herself.

"Cassie, I know it's hard, not seeing him in ten years, but he's safe where he is. Hogwarts is one of the safest places that he could possibly be, it may even be safer than wherever he's been. Especially if Dumbledore is still there, which I'm sure he is."

She still didn't look convinced "but they're Slytherins! They are cunning and evil, what if they manage to get him away from Hogwarts and kidnap him?"

"They won't. The Malfoy's have always loved power and money and without Voldemort or anyone else to lead them, they will stick to the power and money that they can get. They won't do anything to Harry, because it would be a risk to ruining their reputation."

She sighed, "I suppose you're right, but I'm still worried. There may be other kids there who were the children of death eaters."

"When the time comes, we will go back and make sure that he is safe." Cassie smiled a little at the thought of going back to England.

Remus knew that he hadn't crushed her worried, but at least they knew the root of the problem. He was concerned as well, when they left England they only knew bits and pieces of what was going on, and most of the stuff they learned was from the death eaters. However now, they had no idea what kind of state with wizarding world in England was like. They didn't know who had died since they came to America and they didn't know what other changes had occurred.

Remus had a feeling that they would be returning to England sooner rather than later, especially since Cassie was so advanced in magic. If they did meet danger, he knew that she could handle her own. He figured it was about time that they learned what had happened since they left.

"What do you say we go get lunch at the Pelican Cafe?" asked Remus "then maybe we can go to the beach and see a movie?"

Cassie's face lit up, it had been a while since they had had time to spend the day together just the two of them.

"That sounds like fun," she said. "Maybe we can get ice cream too?"

He laughed; she really did love her ice cream. "That sounds good, why don't you go get dressed and then we can go?"

"Okay!" she said and ran up the stairs to her room.

He sighed and ran his hands through his hair, a habit that all of the marauders tended to do when they were nervous.

He went into his office and pulled out a blank piece of parchment and wrote in his neat script:

 _Padfoot,_

 _I know it's been a while since I've spoken to you and I hope that you have been well. Please don't ask me where I am, I won't tell you incase this letter goes astray, however, I'm writing because I had a couple of questions that need to be answered._

 _First, I wanted to check on how Harry is. I heard that he had gone to live with you and I really just want to know if he's okay or not. Second, I was hoping you could tell me what the wizarding world is currently like? Is it peaceful? Who's the minister of magic? Is Albus Dumbledore still headmaster at Hogwarts?_

 _Lastly, I know this is the year that Harry is starting at Hogwarts and I though there were a few things you should be aware of. Lucius Malfoy is a death eater although I know he never landed in Azkaban. He also has a son who is the same age as Harry; I need you to make sure Harry is careful around him. Also, there is another child, I do not know his name, but he is going to be a seventh year this year. I imagine he changed his last name, but he is the son of Bellatrix and Rudolphus Lestrange._

 _I realize that it's been ten years since we've spoken and you may not believe it's me. But we both know that good dogs don't bite. I hope you are doing well._

 _Sincerely yours,_

 _Moony_

Remus knew that it was a risk sending him a letter. He didn't really trust anyone anymore, not after Peter betrayed them, but if he and Cassie were going to return to England he needed answers.

He sealed the letter and put it in his pocket. He didn't own an owl, so he'd have to sneak away at some point to go to the wizarding post office.

Cassie entered his office "I'm ready when you are," she said.

He smiled, walked around his desk and through his arm around her shoulders. "Well then let's go," he said and they left for lunch.


	7. Hearing from them

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, anything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling.**

CHAPTER SEVEN

Hearing from them

Sirius Black was sitting at his desk at the end of the day in boredom. He was waiting for the clock to strike 5:00pm so he could go home and see his loving family. Okay, so he could see James' loving family, which was practically his family as well. They were after all, brothers in all but blood.

When he had signed up to become an auror, just after graduating from Hogwarts, he did it because not only would he be able to help people, but also because it was an exciting job. Of course, one thing that he had not counted on was losing two of the people who meant the most to him, and slowly becoming obsessed with their disappearance until the head auror decided it would be best for him stick with desk work.

So that is what he had been doing for the last several months, deskwork.

So here he was sitting at the desk at the end of the day just watching the clock tic by. It was 4:45 when the letter came. He didn't recognize the owl, but he did recognize the neat script. When the owl dropped it on his desk, his immediate though was that it was impossible, but one feeling he couldn't quite shake was hope. He hadn't seen the writing in nearly ten years, but he would always recognize it as his friend's.

He opened the letter with shaky hands and immediately looked to the bottom to see it signed as "Moony."

His heart leapt and he went back to the top and read the letter.

 _Padfoot,_

 _I know it's been a while since I've spoken to you and I hope that you have been well. Please don't ask me where I am, I won't tell you incase this letter goes astray, however, I'm writing because I had a couple of questions that need to be answered._

'That's it? That is how he starts the letter? He was declared dead for Merlin's sake!' Thought Sirius.

 _First, I wanted to check on how Harry is. I heard that he had gone to live with you and I really just want to know if he's okay or not. Second, I was hoping you could tell me what the wizarding world is currently like? Is it peaceful? Who's the minister of magic? Is Albus Dumbledore still headmaster at Hogwarts?_

'He thinks Harry is living with me, so obviously he doesn't know that James and Lily are alive. Which would make sense because we never got around to telling Moony about it' Sirius contemplated this paragraph. It was obvious that whoever this was hasn't been living in the wizarding world, maybe not even in England.

 _Lastly, I know this is the year that Harry is starting at Hogwarts and I though there were a few things you should be aware of. Lucius Malfoy is a death eater although I know he never landed in Azkaban. He also has a son who is the same age as Harry; I need you to make sure Harry is careful around him. Also, there is another child, I do not know his name, but he is going to be a seventh year this year. I imagine he changed his last name, but he is the son of Bellatrix and Rudolphus Lestrange._

'I always knew Malfoy was a Death Eater, but he claimed he was put under the Imperius when he was questioned. How on earth would Moony know all of this? Especially if he had been away from the wizarding world?'

 _I realize that it's been ten years since we've spoken and you may not believe it's me. But we both know that good dogs don't bite. I hope you are doing well._

 _Sincerely yours,_

 _Moony_

Sirius felt sad when he reached the end of the letter. He still didn't know if it really was from his friend, part of him couldn't help but think it was some cruel trick, but the writing was the same and what about that last sentence? 'Good dogs don't bite.' That must have been referring to his animagus form, although he supposed that stupid rat could have told the Death Eaters about his and James' form.

He had been staring at the letter for quite a while and didn't even realize that the time had come for him to leave until Kingsley spoke to him.

"You alright Black? You seem a bit out of it and you're usually out of here by five o'clock." He said looking concerned.

Sirius jumped when Kingsley addressed him. "Oh I just got a letter. But y-yeah I have to go," he said jumping up and heading towards the door.

He didn't even look back to Kingsley, but apparated straight to Hogsmeade when he reached the apparition point. He had thought about going back to Potter Manor and showing James, Natalie, and Lily the letter, but if it really wasn't from Remus, he didn't want to get their hopes up only to crush them. So he figured it would be better to speak with Dumbledore.

His mind was spinning with thoughts of his friend and he before he knew it he found himself at the entrance to Dumbledore's office. He realized that he didn't know the password and began shouting out sweets, remembering that Dumbledore had a strange liking to them.

He guessed the password and ran up to Dumbledore's office, who told him to enter. Dumbledore seemed genuinely surprised to see Sirius at his office, but told him to sit nonetheless.

"Sirius, my boy. What brings you here today?"

"Professor, I got this letter today and well it's hard to explain, so I'll just show it to you," said Sirius, pulling the letter from his pocket with shaking hands.

Dumbledore looked at the letter and his eyes grew sad. "Sirius, I know you wish this was from Remus, but Remus is dead. This is probably a trap, someone knows how much you want him to be back and they are using it against you."

"But sir, the letter is in his writing, and it didn't say anything about wanting to meet! How could it be a trap? He was just asking a few questions and actually warning me about something!" Sirius was frustrated. Even though he knew his friend might be dead he didn't want to believe that this wasn't from him.

"I imagine whoever wrote this letter did their research and knew how he wrote and what to say to make you believe him," He sighed and looked at his former student with concern. "Besides, if this is from him, where has he been for the last ten years?"

Sirius sighed it was a good question. If Remus was alive and well enough to write to him, where had he been? More importantly, why hadn't he come back?

"But professor, what if it _is_ him? I don't know where he is or why he left, but if he is okay, I need to know. Natalie needs to know."

Dumbledore thought for a moment "very well, why don't I call James, Lily, and Natalie here? Then we can all discuss it and decide what to do?"

"Sounds good," said Sirius relieved.

Sirius found a seat and got comfortable while Dumbledore flooed Potter Manor and asked for them to come.

Ten minutes had passed in an awkward silence before the five Potters and Natalie came tumbling through the fire.

"Sorry professor, there wasn't anyone to watch the kids," said James.

"That is quite alright m'boy," said Dumbledore with the usual twinkle in his eye. "Why don't we send for a house elf and they can take them to the kitchens?"

"That's fine," said James who had sat down and pulled Emma onto his lap.

Dumbledore called for Blinky who appeared and walked all three of the kids from the room after Lily had told them all to behave.

"So what brings all of us here professor? Is something wrong?" asked Natalie looking worried.

It had been a long time since Dumbledore brought them all together. They saw him semi-regularly, but the kids were usually allowed to be present and he never seemed so serious.

"Something rather interesting happened today and I believe I'll let Sirius explain it. However, before he does I'd like to remind you all not to get your hopes up, it could very well be a trap," said Dumbledore gesturing to Sirius to fill them in.

Sirius cleared his throat awkwardly while the other three just stared at him.

"Mate, what happened?" asked James

"Well, it was towards the end of my shift when I got a letter." He paused "The letter was familiar, and the person was asking questions about Harry, and well they gave me a warning."

James and Lily had paled when he mentioned their son.

"Who is this person and what could they want with Harry?" Snapped Lily glaring at the folded letter in Sirius' hand.

James just put a calming hand on her arm and motioned for Sirius to continue.

Sirius still looked nervous and was having difficulty meeting anyone in the eyes.

"Well you see, the letter was signed from Moony."

There was complete silence in the room. James looked angry, while Lily's mouth dropped open in shock. Natalie looked close to tears, but also looked slightly angry.

"What kind of sick trick is this?" shouted James looking at Dumbledore. "What kind of person would write to Sirius as his dead best friend?"

"We don't know James. That's why we wanted to discuss this. The person may be a Death Eater trying to get on his good side, but it also may actually be Remus," responded Dumbledore softly.

"Professor, How could it possibly be Remus? He's been gone for ten years! We would have heard from him sooner," said Lily after she had composed herself. She went over and sat by Natalie, squeezing her hand gently.

"I want to see the letter." Said Natalie looking at the note in Sirius' hand.

Sirius hesitated slightly, but handed the letter to Natalie, who opened it with wide eyes. Natalie read the letter several times, while Lily read over her shoulder, both of their eyes filled with tears. When they finished Lily handed the letter to James and put her arm around her friend trying to comfort her.

"It's in his writing," said Natalie.

"This person is concerned about Harry. He's only asking how he is, not any information about him," said Lily, with hope in her eyes.

"Good dogs don't bite," said James still staring at the letter.

They had told Dumbledore about their animagus forms after Peter had betrayed them. He had been surprised at the time, but had informed them that if anyone could become an illegal animagus without him knowing it would be them.

Sirius had calmed down slightly now that his friends knew about the letter and decided to give his input. "We know that the letter is in his writing, we know he's concerned about Harry enough to warn us, we know that he knows about my animagus form which only the five of us, plus Wormtail and Rem know about, and we know that his body was never found, which means that this letter really could be from him."

Looking around the room, everyone looked slightly suspicious, but also slightly hopeful. No body spoke for a while; they all just contemplated the new information they were given.

"If this is him," said Natalie quietly, "why did he leave?"

James looked at her sympathetically, "We don't know. But we know Remus and if he is alive, he must have had a good reason for leaving. We know that he doesn't think Lily and I are alive since he thinks Harry lives with Padfoot. There must have been something keeping him from coming back."

"So what do we do now? If he's alive, we need to find him," said Lily with a determined glint in her eye.

"I think we should write him back." Dumbledore paused "Maybe I should write him and ask if we can meet along with Sirius. That way if it is a set up, none of you are injured and if not, he may be more willing to meet."

The other four occupants of the room shared a look and an unspoken agreement.

"Hopefully that'll work," said James as they all sat down to help Dumbledore to write the letter.

* * *

 _Three days later – Florence, OR_

"The Civil War lasted from 1861 until 1865 and resulted in nearly 600,000 deaths," said Remus.

He was standing at the front of the classroom teaching about the Civil War to students who looked like they couldn't care less. He heard some laughing and turned to look at the class, only to see them pointing towards the window.

He looked outside the window to see an owl perched on the windowsill tapping on the glass with its beak.

His eyes grew wide when he realized whom the letter must be from. Fortunately he was saved from answering questions as to why there was an owl outside the room carrying a letter by the sound of the bell, signaling the end of class. The students all gathered their things and filed out of the room, when they were all gone he closed his door and went to the window and let the bird fly in.

He untied the two letters and offered the bird some peanuts that he had sitting on his desk. When the owl flew out of the open window he sat down and opened the letter with shaking hands.

 _Moony,_

 _I know that you want to know about Harry, but all I'm going to tell you is that he is fine. You have to understand that you disappeared ten years ago, so I can't be entirely sure that it is you, even though you know my secret. After all, the rat also new my secret and he was a death eater._

 _If you are my friend, let me tell you that I have missed you greatly and would like to see you again. I've believed you to be dead so you can imagine my surprise receiving a letter from you. There is much I would like to tell you, so if you'll agree I'd like to meet with you and Albus Dumbledore (yes he's still the headmaster at Hogwarts)._

 _I know you may feel like this is a trap, but I guarantee you I won't do anything to harm you. I promised myself I never would again after the incident in sixth year._

 _I hope to see you soon,_

 _You're friend,_

 _Padfoot._

Remus let out his breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding. The writing was familiar and there was a shrunken paw print on the page, which was so similar to all of the other letters they'd sent each other during the holidays at Hogwarts.

He didn't realize that Sirius had thought him to be dead since he'd been gone for so long. He supposed it made sense, after all he would have thought his friends to be dead if they had disappeared and he never heard from them again.

He looked at the second letter and recognized the thin loopy handwriting from his old Headmaster. He opened this letter and was unsurprised to see an invitation to lunch.

 _Mr. Lupin,_

 _I was notified of you writing to Mr. Black a couple of days ago and I was hoping that we might be able to meet in person. Much has happened since your disappearance and we'd like to be able to discuss them with you._

 _I'd like to invite you to get some lunch and drinks at the Three Broomsticks this Saturday, the 8th of July. I understand that you may be hesitant in returning; however I can ensure your secrecy and your safety. You may also feel free to disguise yourself. There is no need to send a reply; Mr. Black and I will be waiting at the Three Broomsticks at noon on Saturday._

 _Hoping you are well,_

 _Albus Dumbledore._

 _Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_


	8. A Meeting

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, anything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling**

CHAPTER EIGHT

A Meeting

School ended a few hours ago and Remus was trying to figure out how to tell his niece that he wanted to go to England to meet with someone. He was sitting in his car debating whether or not he wanted to wait until Cassie got home to talk to her, but in the end he decided against it. Tomorrow was Saturday and she wouldn't be getting back from work until late, so he decided to meet her during her break.

He arrived at her work; taking a deep breath he made his way inside. She worked in a small coffee shop bookstore, which fit her personality very well. He was always impressed with her, she had a very friendly personality and got on well with the customers, but she also had a rather peaceful nature.

He walked into the building and was greeted by Cassandra's co-workers. He walked up to the counter where Cassie greeted him with a large smile.

"Uncle Richie! I didn't know you were coming today. Do you want a hot Americano?" She asked with a small smirk, she always called him 'Uncle Richie' in public because she knew how much he hated it.

He smiled, "sure that sounds great, but I actually had something that I wanted to talk you about, are you free to take your break soon?"

She frowned slightly, "yeah I can take it in five minutes, is everything okay?"

Usually Remus would wait to talk to her about things until they were in the privacy of their home, so she knew it must be something serious if he wanted to talk to her at work.

She cleaned up and made the last of her coffees and when the shop wasn't so busy she made herself a coffee and sat down with her uncle. With a flick of his wrist he cast a Muffliato spell over them.

"Okay what's so serious that you have to use magic?" Cassie asked looking serious.

Remus sighed, "I've been thinking lately about your nightmares, and I thought it would be a good idea to check on Harry."

Cassie's eyes brightened. "You talked to harry?" She asked running her fingers through her hair, "how is he? What did he say? Is that why there's was an owl outside your window at school?"

"Whoa Cass slow down, no I didn't actually talk to Harry, but I wrote a letter to Sirius about a week ago and I got his response today."

"What did he say? What did you say?" She asked excitedly.

"I asked him how Harry was and I asked him what the wizarding world is currently like." He paused and frowned slightly, "all he said about Harry is that he's okay, but what I wanted to talk to you about is that Sirius was wanting to meet with me tomorrow."

She looked at him slightly surprised, "we're going to England?"

"No, I'm not putting you at risk, I'm thinking about going to England while you stay with Jon."

"What? But it's Sirius! He won't hurt me, and besides I can take care of myself!" she said with a frown.

"Cassie, I know you can take care of yourself, but I don't even know if it really was Sirius who sent the letter, it might be a trap and I won't put you at risk. If it really is Sirius and I think it's safe then I will let you see him, but you are absolutely not coming with me tomorrow."

She frowned, but realized the topic wasn't up for discussion. "Well let's say it is a trap, what about you?"

"I'll be fine Cass, that's actually what I wanted to talk about. I'd like you to spend the day with Jon tomorrow you can let him know what's happening but I want you too make sure you stay with him. If I don't come home I want you too stay with him and his family. I've talked to his mother before and she is more than willing to care for you if I'm not around."

Cassie looked at him sadly, "maybe this isn't worth it, maybe you shouldn't go and we can see if we can get answers through another letter."

He sighed, "Cassie we have to do this eventually, and Dumbledore will be there, if it really is him I know we can trust him."

"But Moony you're all I have, I can't lose you too."

"It'll be fine I don't want you to worry, I'll go disguised and if anything is suspicious then I'll leave."

Cassie sighed, she didn't want anything to happen to him, but she did want to see Sirius and Harry and she knew that would only happen if Remus felt that he could trust Sirius and it was safe enough to return to the wizarding world.

"Alright I'll stop by Jon's house after work and see what he wants to do tomorrow."

He gave her a small smile as they both stood "it'll be okay, you will see," he said and then kissed her on the forehead and said goodbye.

* * *

The following morning was a quiet one. They were both worried about how the meeting would go, but neither of them wanted to bring up the topic.

It was eleven o'clock when Jon arrived at the house and helped them gather their stuff. Cassie cast a strong disillusionment charm on him so that no one could tell he was Remus Lupin. He now had long blonde hair, blue eyes, a beard and moustache.

They had also decided that Remus should take veritisium with him just to be sure that they really were who they said they were and there was no doubt that Sirius and Dumbledore would want to check his identity as well.

Remus gave Cassie a hug and headed towards the door. "I won't be gone long. Stay with Jon and I'll be back before you know it."

She hugged him again "please be safe," she said quietly.

He smiled, kissed her on the forehead, waved goodbye to the two of them and left.

Jon turned to her, and saw that she had tears in her eyes. He pulled her into a tight hug, "cheer up buttercup, he'll be okay."

She smiled at him gratefully when they pulled away.

"Now what do you say we go to the beach?" asked Jon with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

It was a stressful morning at Potter Manor. Everyone was nervous about what they would discover about this person who claimed to be their friend. They were all trying to keep from getting their hopes up, but they were worried that this was some elaborate scheme to fool Sirius.

They weren't worried that Sirius would get hurt; after all he would be with Dumbledore.

The family sat down for a late breakfast and the kids were talkative as usual. Although Harry noticed the tense atmosphere, the two younger ones hadn't. James and Lily had chosen not to tell their children about who Sirius was visiting because they didn't want them to get their hopes up. Harry was the only one to meet Remus as a baby but all three of them had heard many stories about their honorary uncle.

Sirius was fidgeting in his seat and playing with his food

"Uncle Paddy, why aren't you eating?" Asked Harry finally deciding to bring up everyone's nervousness.

Sirius looked up surprised at being addressed. He just smiled at Harry stiffly and took a bite of his eggs, which tasted like stale cardboard.

After Harry's comment the other two children seemed to notice the tense situation and the lack of their aunts presence at the table.

"Mummy, where's aunt Nat?" Asked Emma in her small squeaky voice.

Lily and James shared a look "she's not feeling well today so she decided to just sleep," said Lily.

The two younger children looked satisfied with the explanation, but Harry was still suspicious.

"Dad, what's going on? You all seem nervous and aunt Nat has hardly been at a meal for the last three days."

It was true, Natalie was very nervous about the letter from her supposed husband and she couldn't help but wonder why he left and never came back. She was worried that he didn't love her anymore. All the worrying and stress caused a decrease in appetite and sociability.

"Harry, there's just been some stuff going on recently, but it isn't anything that you need to worry about," said James Firmly. Harry looked like he wanted to argue, but the finality in his father's voice made him stop.

Dumbledore arrived at the Potter's shortly before noon, it was decided that they would apparate together just encase their was an ambush waiting for them.

After a rushed goodbye and a 'good luck' from James and Lily, Sirius and Dumbledore left, hoping that Remus was alive.

* * *

Remus arrived at the three broomsticks five minutes early and was slightly shaken since it has been so long since he's apparate. He found an empty table near the window and ordered some mead when Madame Rosmerta approached him.

He didn't have to wait long until he saw two very familiar people walked into the pub. He watched them for a minute trying not to bring attention to himself. They looked the same, although he figured that could be polyjuice potion. They also acted similar; Dumbledore stood calmly, with the feeling of power radiating off of him, while Sirius stood with his usual aristocratic elegance, although he did seem slightly nervous.

Finally Dumbledore turned and the two of them made eye contact. He grabbed Sirius's attention and the two of them made their way over to him. When the two of them reached his table, he stood up and shook their hands.

Dumbledore smiled at him, "I believe I am correct in assuming that we had a meeting set for today?" he said with his usual gentle voice.

Remus nodded his head and the three of them took their seats. Before they began talking Dumbledore cast a strong silencing charm.

"Now Remus, before we begin I believe that all of us need to prove our identities. As I'm sure you're aware, we were very surprised to hear from you after believing you were dead for ten years. As such, I thought it was necessary to bring Veritaserum, if you would consent of course."

Remus hesitated; he didn't want them to ask any questions about Cassie until he was sure of their identity.

"I will consent to the Veritaserum, if one of you will take it before me. I have some secrets that I can't risk you knowing until I know I can trust you."

Dumbledore looked thoughtful, "I think that sounds like a fair idea, Sirius will consent that way I may moderate the questions."

Both Sirius and Remus nodded in acceptance.

Dumbledore pulled out the vial of potion and dropped three drops onto Sirius's tongue. Sirius's eyes went slightly unfocused Dumbledore gestured for Remus to ask the questions.

"What's your name?"

"Sirius Orion black"

"Date of birth?"

"October 11th, 1957"

"Do you now, or have you ever worked for Voldemort?"

"No"

"Do you mean me or anyone close to me any harm?"

"No"

"What is your purpose for meeting with me today?"

"To confirm that you are who you say you are, so that you can come home."

Remus smiled. It really was Sirius and Sirius was just as good as he was when Remus disappeared.

When the potion wore off Dumbledore put the drops off the potion on Remus' tongue

"What is your name?" asked Sirius

"Remus John Lupin"

"What other name do you go by?"

"Moony and Richard Black"

"Date of birth?"

"March 10th, 1958."

"Why did you write the letter that you sent me?"

"Because my niece and I were worried about Harry, we wanted to make sure he was being watched closely."

"Do you mean us or anyone close to us any harm?"

"No."

Sirius really wanted to ask more questions, but he figured he should ask them when Remus could control his answers. He was however, very excited. This really was his friend, the friend who he thought was dead for so many years.

When the potion finished Dumbledore addressed Remus,

"Welcome back m'boy. It really is good to see you again, even if you don't look exactly like you," he said with the usual twinkle in his eye. "I was hoping that you might consent to coming to Hogwarts, so we can discuss you're leaving and what has being going on since?"

Remus paused, he knew that this really was Sirius and Dumbledore, and he knew that he could trust them, but he was still hesitant. Sirius hadn't said anything to him, other than asking the questions. He looked at his watch and since he still had time before Cassie would begin to worry, he decided that talking in the privacy of Hogwarts was a good idea.

"That's fine," he said quietly.

The three of them paid for their drinks and left the pub. They walked quietly down the road that led back to Hogwarts, with Dumbledore standing in the middle of the two men.

As soon as they stepped inside Dumbledore's office, Remus saw something fly at him, but before he could react he discovered that they were actually arms surrounding him.

When Sirius pulled back and looked at his friend, Remus noticed that he had tears in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry Moony, I'm sorry for not trusting you when I should have and I'm sorry for keeping secrets from you, but I'm so glad you're back now," he said and Remus noticed the guilt in his eyes.

Remus gazed at his friend, "Sirius, I'm not mad at you. I never was."

"Remus, do you mind if I?" interrupted Dumbledore indicating his wand.

"No that's fine," said Remus

Dumbledore pointed his want at Remus "Finite Incantatum," he said and Remus felt his disillusionment charm fall.

When Sirius saw his friend, looking similar to the last time he saw him, other than several more scars and more gray hairs, he pulled him into another hug.

"Look at you, you've gotten old," he said with a laugh.

Remus just glared jokingly "It's the kid, she stresses me out," he said without thinking. When he realized what he said his eyes grew wide and he looked away, he wasn't ready to talk about Cassie yet.

Sirius opened his mouth as though to speak, but Dumbledore interrupted him, "why don't the two of you take a seat and make yourselves comfortable."

Both Remus and Sirius complied, sitting in the seats across from Dumbledore's desk, turning them slightly so they had a better view of each other.

"Now Remus, would you like to begin?" asked Dumbledore "There was an attack on your house and it was then that you disappeared. Where did you go?"

Remus sighed, "it's kind of a long story, but I can give you the basics." When both Sirius and Dumbledore nodded, he continued.

"I was at the ministry, asking about Harry. I didn't know yet if Sirius was innocent or if he had been secret keeper, but I knew that James, Lily, and Cassie had died that night, so I wanted to bring him home with me. Obviously the ministry refused, saying he was safe where he was.

"When I got home I saw that the house had been broken into and Natalie was gone, I was going to leave to go to Hogwarts when about seven death eaters showed up. I wasn't strong enough to fight them, they didn't want to kill me, they just wanted to use me.

"They knocked me out and when I woke up, I was in a cellar. Later I realized that I was in the dungeon of Lestrange Manor. Then a few hours later, they told me about N-Natalie" choked Remus, "they told me they killed her and they showed me her finger."

"Wait, Remus," said Sirius interrupting him "Natalie isn't dead, they lied to you."

Remus jerked his head to look at Sirius "w-what? But they had her finger! They showed me her finger! And she wasn't there when I got home," he said with pleading eyes.

Sirius ran his fingers through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck "We knew about the attack, I had gone there and found Natalie, she was beaten and was missing a finger, but she wasn't dead. You weren't there at the time. When Natalie woke up, she said that you had gone to the ministry, so Ja- um… I went back to the house and saw the dark mark over the house and your blood on the walls," finished Sirius, looking pained.

Remus caught his slip with words, but decided not to bring it up. "S-so Natalie, she's alive?" asked Remus, looking hopeful

Sirius grabbed his friend's hand "yes Remus, She's alive. She's currently living with me and has been very anxious the last few days at the thought of you being back."

Remus put his head in his hands "she must think I deserted her," he said in a strained voice.

"No Rem, She'll understand once you tell her what happened."

Dumbledore cleared his throat "So Remus, maybe we should finish talking so you can get back and see your wife. You said you were in Lestrange Manor, how long were you there? How did you escape?"

"I um… I was there for about three years before we escaped."

"Three years?" asked Sirius looking surprised, "You were in captivity for three years and you still managed to escape? Wait, there was an explosion, the Aurors went there after an explosion, why didn't we find you?"

"Paddy, the explosion is when we escaped. It blew up; most of the death eaters were either dead or unconscious. I grabbed the wand of the death eater closest to me, grabbed her and we ran." He paused grimacing at the remembrance of that day and what happened after.

"We had tried to go back to England, but the death eaters were always close by, we discovered that they had placed a tracker on us, so we got rid of it, but we knew that it wasn't safe to go back to England with them still looking for us, so we went to America."

"So, you've been hiding in America for the last seven years?" asked Sirius.

"Remus, you keep saying 'we,' who is it that you escaped Lestrange Manor with?" asked Dumbledore.

Remus blanched, he hadn't even realized he'd been saying 'we.' Whenever he remembered what happened, her frightened face was always at the front of his mind, so 'we' just kind of slipped out.

"Um… well, there was a child there when I got there. They had kidnapped her and had intended on using her for her powers. We shared the same cell for three years," he said, not meeting either of their eyes.

"And who might this girl be? I'm assuming I'm correct in thinking this girl may be the niece you were referring to earlier?" asked Dumbledore.

Remus always hated it when Dumbledore looked at him like that. He always felt like he was being x-rayed.

"Yes sir, we escaped together and she lives with me. She's not technically my niece, but I've considered her one for years."

"Who is she Rem?" asked Sirius, looking suspicious.

Remus looked to Sirius, and then settled his eyes on Dumbledore, unsure of what to say. Sirius would want to know that his goddaughter was alive, and Remus really didn't have a good reason for keeping it from him, but he was still nervous. He couldn't let anything happen to her.

"Ah," said Dumbledore giving Remus a knowing look. "Do tell me Remus, how young Cassandra managed to survive the attack on her house that Halloween ten years ago."

Sirius turned to Dumbledore surprised. "Cassandra? You mean Cassie? My goddaughter Cassie? She's dead! Harry saw her die! We watched his memory and she was hit with the killing curse!" he shouted jumping to his feet.

Dumbledore just stared at Remus, waiting for him to continue.

"She didn't die Padfoot." He said grabbing his friends' arm. "I didn't know you saw the memory, but I remember seeing her death announced in the daily prophet, well I was just as surprised as you when I saw her in the dungeon when I woke up."

Sirius just stared at Remus, unsure of what to say. It wasn't possible that _both_ of them were alive. He had never had hope that Cassie was alive seeing as Harry saw her get hit. Then again, Harry survived the killing curse, so why couldn't Cassie?

"She can't be alive. Harry saw her die, how could she survive the killing curse?"

"Harry survived it, didn't he?" reasoned Remus "If Harry could survive it, why couldn't Cassie? Besides, apparently the death eaters didn't seem surprised that she had lived that night, it was almost like they were expecting her to arrive."

Both Remus and Sirius looked at Dumbledore hoping that he would have some insight to what happened.

"I believe," said Dumbledore slowly "that Voldemort may not have wanted to kill Cassandra because he wanted to use her power, just as you said earlier Remus. Because he didn't intend on killing her, she didn't die when she was hit. However, she had still willingly given up her life for Harry, which allowed Harry to survive the killing curse.

"The one question I have, is if Cassie is alive and was there that night, why didn't she want to come back? She would have had a good reason for wanting to come back."

Remus wasn't entirely sure what Dumbledore was asking, why would Cassie want to come back, other than for Sirius and her brother?

"Well sir, we couldn't come back. We were on the run for nearly two years before we were safe. Besides, Cassie doesn't remember what happened that night. The night that her parents died is completely wiped from her memory," he said still looking confused.

"Ah, that would explain it then," said Dumbledore looking thoughtful.

"Explain what?" said Remus turning to look at Sirius.

Sirius took a deep breath. "Rem, James and Lily and I were all at a meeting the night that Voldemort came for Harry. Wormtail was babysitting so James and Lily weren't killed; Cassie willingly gave up her life for Harry, which is how he survived. If Cassie would have remembered that night, she would have remembered that her parents were alive." Sirius was hoping that Remus would believe him, but by the surprised and slightly angry look on his face, he realized he was wrong.

"What kind of sick trick is this?" shouted Remus, jumping to his feet. "There was an announcement that James and Lily had died! I mourned for them for five days before I was taken! If they were alive why didn't anyone tell me?"

Remus was angry, how dare they play this sort of trick on him? Hadn't he been through enough? He put back on his disguise and fled from the office, with Sirius following closely behind him.

"Moony! Don't leave; everything I told you is true. Come back to the office and let me explain!" he begged trying to keep up with the running werewolf.

"Remus, if you survived and Cassie survived, who's to say that those two didn't survive as well?" Sirius said, trying to reason with Remus.

Remus wouldn't listen, James and Lily couldn't be alive, and Natalie couldn't be alive. How could all three of them be dead one minute and alive the next? How could this entire mess just be one giant misunderstanding?

Remus sprinted the last few feet and reached the area for Apparating. He left, with a small glance back at Sirius who was still trying to stop him. He opened his eyes to find himself alone in a deserted alley several blocks from his home.


	9. The Truth

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, everything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling**

CHAPTER NINE

The Truth

"So, if everything goes well, do you think you'll move back to England?"

Jon and Cassie were sitting on some driftwood staring at the ocean. Remus had been gone for about an hour and so far Jon had successfully kept Cassie occupied so she wouldn't be worried. But now that they were relaxing, he felt it was okay to bring up the subject he was worried about.

"I'm not sure, I think it'll depend on what Remus wants," said Cassie still staring at the ocean. "If he wants to go back to England, then we'll go. I can't ask him to stay here when his entire life was there."

Jon just stared at Cassie with an amused look. Leave it to her to be selfless in a situation like this.

"Well if the decision is yours, what would you like to do?"

Cassie sighed, "I'm not sure. Part of me would like to go back and see Harry and go to Hogwarts, but I don't remember much of my life there. I really only know the stories that Remus has told me. I mean, sure I remember my parents, but they're dead, so everything that I used to know is gone."

She paused contemplating what it was that she really wanted. "My life is here now, so I think it'd be really hard to leave. I'd like to graduate with all of you in two years and I don't know, college sounded kind of fun."

"Well, I think Remus will probably do whatever it is you want to do. Besides, you're a witch and a powerful one at that. Whether you live here or there you'll be able to see whomever you want. I'll be just a floo away, as will Harry."

She smiled, finally looking away from the waves "yeah, I suppose your right."

"This could be good Ari, you could have more relationships that connect you to home and you could have your brother back." He shoved her slightly "besides you'll always have be and Zach, no matter what you do. The three of us can still go to college together, maybe we can go to Oxford or something."

Cassie just laughed. She loved that about Jon, he always had a way of seeing the good behind everything.

Jon stood up and brushed off his shorts "alright darling Cassandra, I do believe we have a meeting to attend in ten minutes," he said with a straight face, looking off into the distance.

Cassie stood up and took his offered arm, letting him guide her away. They walked along the beach and made their way to the small ice cream shop where they had planned on meeting Zach and Lucy.

"Ah if it isn't Arianna."

Arianna turned to the voice coming from her left. It came from a rather large boy (not from fat, but muscle) who's name was Mike. He was a Linebacker on the football team and never missed a chance to ask her out on a date.

"What do you want Mike?" she asked, annoyed.

"Well my dear, I obviously thought it would be a good idea for us to go out." He said with a stupid smirk and slight wink. "I am after all the best looking guy in school, and you're the best looking girl, so we'd make a great couple."

"Get over yourself, I'm never going out with you," she said rolling her eyes.

"Oh come on Black, You're stupid poof is never going to go out with you."

Cassandra's eyes flashed red momentarily, but she calmed down when Jon squeezed her hand.

"She has a better chance at me going out with her, then you do of her going out with you," said Jon, he grabbed her hand and dragged her into the ice cream shop, leading her over to their friends.

"Just ignore him Ari, I don't care what he says and you shouldn't either." He leaned over and whispered in her ear so the others couldn't hear him "we both know I could take him with my hands behind my back."

Cassie snorted "yeah and a stick of wood in your hand."

Before Jon could respond he had his arms full with his boyfriend, who appeared to be trying to suck off his face. At least, that's how it looked to Cassie.

Lucy rolled her eyes and walked over to her "they act like haven't seen each other in a year, but they just saw each other yesterday."

Cassie laughed; she was sometimes envious of the love between Jon and Zach. It wasn't that she was interested in either of them, but she wondered what it would be like to have a significant other who knew everything about you and still loved you unconditionally.

Cassie turned to her friend "you know I'm surprised you are talking to me, when there is an entire table over there, with perfectly attractive guys you could be flirting with."

Lucy turned and looked where Cassie was pointing "Oh, I would be over there, but you see I've kind of already dated two of the guys and well neither of them appreciated being dumped."

Cassie rolled her eyes. Lucy was always like that, she shamelessly flirted with people and would date them for a few days before coming up with an excuse as to why she didn't want to be with them.

"Are you talking about Lucy and her man endeavors?" asked Zach

"Oh have you finally decided to come up for air?" responded Lucy with a small glare.

Jon and Cassie just dragged their two friends to the front to order some ice cream before they could start arguing. They were best friends, but they argued more times than not.

They had been comfortably eating ice cream and talking about random topics when Remus came into the shop looking disheveled and worried.

"Mr. B!" shouted Zach "come to join us for some ice cream?"

Remus just glanced at Zach shaking his head slightly. "We have to go," he said turning to Cassie.

Cassie shared a look with Jon who was looking equally worried. She turned to her other friends, grabbing her purse "sorry guys, I have to go."

She stood up to leave and Jon stood with her "call me tonight okay?" he asked quietly "keep me updated."

She gave him a small smile and nodded

"Arianna, let's go," Said Remus impatiently.

They two of them left the shop to slightly baffled and worried looks coming from her friends, Remus was _never_ impatient.

When Remus and Cassie made it to their home and closed the door behind them, Cassie turned to him looking worried. "What's going on?" she asked, "What happened? Was it a set up?"

Remus sighed and rubbed his neck with his hand "no, it wasn't a set up. It really was Sirius and Professor Dumbledore and they both said Harry was doing well."

Cassie relaxed slightly "well that's good news then! If it isn't that, what has you so worried?"

"There were just a few things that they told me that I need some time to think about." He sighed "Cassie I'm sorry I took you from your friends, I'll just feel better if you're here for the rest of the weekend. I need some time to think so why don't you go up to your room?"

"What? You're not going to tell me what they said?" asked Cassie, surprised.

"I will, in time, but right now I need to think about it alone. Please go to you room."

Cassie realized that she was dismissed and turned and walked upstairs to her bedroom. She knew Remus would tell her when he had thought things through; she just hoped that would be soon.

* * *

After Sirius left, Lily grabbed Emma to have her help her bake some cookies, while James grabbed the boys to go and fly in the back yard. Their ultimate goal was to distract themselves.

Lily always enjoyed baking, it was a way for her to forget about her worries and make something that looked and tasted amazing. When Cassie was little she would love helping Lily bake, she would even try decorating the cake and cookies, but usually Lily would have to help her out a little. Emma didn't like it quite as much, she would always get distracted, but Lily still enjoyed having the help.

After about thirty minutes, Natalie came down and entered the kitchen. Lily looked up when she heard the door open and barely hid her surprise at seeing her friend outside of her room.

"Nat, are you hungry? Do you want something to drink?"

Lily had been concerned about her friend. She hadn't eaten much since Sirius had gotten the letter from Remus. Of course they had all been worried, but Natalie was also worried as to the reason that Remus never came back. Lily was worried that her friend wouldn't recover if this were some elaborate plot. Natalie had been so devastated the first time Remus disappeared; she didn't think she could handle it happening a second time.

"Yeah sure, I might get some lemonade," said Natalie with a small smile.

Emma who had been eating chocolate chips while her mum was distracted ran over to her honorary aunt and hugged her legs.

"Mummy told me you've been sick are you feeling better?"

Natalie just smiled at the little girl and bent down so their faces were at the same height. "Yeah pumpkin, I'm feeling better."

After the three of them sat down while the cookies were baking Natalie brought up the subject she really wanted to talk about.

"Has James heard from Sirius yet?"

Lily glanced at her daughter to make sure she was distracted before responding. "No, he just sent a patronus when they arrived at the Three Broomsticks saying that there wasn't an ambush. But he hadn't seen him yet and he hasn't responded yet."

Natalie just nodded and returned to her drink.

After a while longer, the three boys came into the house laughing. James was bragging about how Harry would be an excellent seeker for Gryffindor his second year.

"James, don't put pressure on your children. Harry doesn't have to be a seeker if he doesn't want and he doesn't have to be in Gryffindor," said Lily, running her hands through Harry's hair when he sat down next to her.

James just put up his hands in surrender "of course he doesn't, but if he was, he would be great. That's all I'm saying," he said and gave Lily a crooked smile.

The others just laughed and Lily rolled her eyes. Just then the oven buzzed, signaling that the cookies were ready. Lily got up and went into the kitchen, and Harry followed her, offering to help. They returned with a pitcher of milk and a plate of cookies.

The small family ate in silence, well James, Lily and Natalie ate in silence while the Liam and Emma argued and Harry did his best to get them to stop.

James and Lily had small smiles on their faces. They really had a nearly perfect family. Harry was a great older sibling, he didn't fight with either of the younger ones and he was a good leader. James was always amazed at how much his personality resembled his mothers. He was a natural leader and wasn't afraid to stand up for what he believed in, but he was also very quiet and kind.

Liam and Emma argued constantly and they were both rather similar in personality. Liam was a prankster who managed to get into trouble often, while Emma was sneakier and able to get away with her mischief. Her two brothers were slightly envious of the way she had her father wrapped around her finger.

James and Lily couldn't help but wonder how things would have been different if Cassie had been here. Harry may not have been as much of a leader and they probably all would have been more mischievous.

They were all brought out of their thinking when they heard the floo activate and someone enter their home. All six of them jumped out of their seats and ran into the living room where the fireplace was. When they entered the room they saw Sirius who was standing with an overwhelmed and slightly disappointed look.

He made eye contact with James, who turned and addressed his children.

"Kids, I need you to go upstairs and stay there. Harry could you put on a movie in the loft?"

The two younger kids whined while Harry just nodded and grabbed his sisters' hand and walked them both upstairs.

When the children were gone, the adults made their way into the dining room and sat at the table. James cast a silencing charm on the door and turned to Sirius.

"What happened?"

Sirius sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "It was Remus, he's alive and he was there. It went well, until the end."

The other three in the room let out a breath of relief. Remus was alive and he was okay. They had never though that their friend would make it, but he did and hopefully they'd be able to see him soon.

Natalie began to cry "s-so w-where has h-he been?"

Sirius just looked at her sympathetically, reaching out and grabbing her hand. "He had a good reason for not being here, I promise he didn't just leave you."

She smiled gratefully

"So what's his story?" asked James impatiently.

Sirius looked at his friend and shook his head, "the night that he disappeared, well he had been attacked by Death Eaters after we got Natalie out of there. The Death Eaters had kidnapped him, or I guess adult napped him and he was held in the dungeon of Lestrange Manor for three years."

James mouth dropped open "Three years? How is he alive?"

"I don't know, they needed him for something. He didn't go into that much detail, all I know is that he was in captivity for three years. He escaped when there was that explosion and he tried to come back to England, but the Death Eaters had put a tracker on them, so they were on the run for two years before they landed safely in America."

Lily's mouth was open in shock while James had his head in his hands. Natalie's crying had lessened, but she was still silent, staring at the table.

Lily seemed to come out of her shock and turned to Sirius "why did he take so long to write? We could have brought him to safety!"

Sirius paused, he wasn't entirely sure why Remus didn't contact them sooner, he could only assume it had something to do with Cassie.

"I'm not sure," he said, "After we confirmed his identity we went back to Dumbledore's office and he told us a rushed version of his story. The only thing I know is that Remus is very paranoid. Even after knowing it was really I, he didn't completely trust me. I assume that's why he didn't contact me sooner. He didn't know that any of you were alive, he only knew about me and Harry."

Natalie finally looked up from the table, "What do you mean he thought we were all dead?"

Sirius shook his head "The death eaters had given him your finger, they told him they killed you, which is why he never came back to you."

Natalie's eyes filled with tears again "so he really didn't leave me."

"No Nat, he loved you. He was surprised when I told him you were alive and he didn't want you to think that he deserted you."

James still looked suspicious, "If he said that, why isn't he here? Why didn't he come back with you?"

Sirius looked down. He didn't know how to tell his friends about Cassandra. It had been ten years, sure they would be ecstatic when they knew the truth, but he knew they wouldn't believe it right away.

"Look, I'm going to tell you the story, and don't interrupt me just let me finish," said Sirius looking at each of his friends, who nodded in confirmation.

"Remus told us that when he landed in the dungeon he met a little girl. She was six years old and she had been kidnapped. Dumbledore believed that Voldemort wanted her so that he could turn her into a weapon and use her powers for his benefit. When Voldemort died, his Death Eaters decided to carry out his plan."

Lily, James, and Natalie looked sad, but they weren't entirely sure how it related.

Sirius paused, "When Remus escaped he took her with him, she was nine when they escaped and she is currently living with him in America.

"I know that this is going to be really hard for you to believe, but the girl who was kidnapped was taken on October 31st 1981, her parents never found her body. She was a very powerful little witch and she had always seen Remus as an uncle."

Sirius looked at each of his friends, realization had dawned on each of their faces. James looked slightly angry at what Sirius was suggesting, while both Lily and Natalie looked doubtful, but hopeful.

"Sirius, Cassandra is dead. She died. Harry saw her get hit with the killing curse!" shouted James glaring at his friend.

"That's what I said! But Dumbledore used Legilimens on Remus and he saw memories of him and Cassie, when Cassie was older than the last time we saw her."

"Sirius, how could she have gotten hit with the killing curse and survive?" asked Natalie

"Dumbledore believes that Voldemort never intended on killing her. In the memory we saw of that night, he said that he had plans for her. So if he cast the killing curse on her without the intent of killing her, she wouldn't die."

"It's not possible," said James shaking his head, his eyes filling with tears. "My little girl hasn't been alive this entire time! She wasn't kidnapped! She hasn't been in America!"

"Prongs, she's alive. We are certain that she is alive," said Sirius gently.

When James saw the honesty in Sirius' eyes he put his head in his arms and began to cry. His daughter was alive and Moony was taking care of her.

"W-when can we meet her?" asked Lily in a shaky voice. "Where are they? Can we go see them?"

Sirius looked down "When I told Remus that you two were alive, he didn't believe it. He was so upset that he left, I think he thought it was a trick."

Lily let out a small sob and James stood up and walked to the counter and grabbed a piece of parchment.

"I'll write to him then, I want my daughter back and I want to see him"


	10. Reunited

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling.**

CHAPTER TEN

Reunited

A couple of days had passed since the meeting with Sirius. Remus had spent most of his time deep in though while Cassie spent most of her time in her room trying to be patient and not pester Remus for information. Neither Remus nor Cassie had gone out since that Saturday, thankfully Friday had marked the end of the school year and summer break had begun.

It was Monday afternoon and Remus didn't know what to think. It seemed impossible that James and Lily were alive. Then again it also seemed impossible that Natalie was alive, but he had believed Sirius when he told him. It made sense that the death eaters would lie to him and it also made sense that James and Lily would fake their deaths in order to stay safe. Well, it _sort of_ made sense.

He was still worried though, what if it was a trick? How could he possibly live with himself if he told Cassie that her parents were alive, only to have it be untrue?

Remus put his head in his hands. Cassie, what will she think if her parents really are alive? Will she be mad at Remus for keeping her in America? He couldn't help but feel slightly guilty, if they had gone back sooner Cassie may have had more time with her family and he would have had a life with Natalie.

He was lost in thought when he heard a tapping on the window. He looked up and saw that there was a snowy white owl carrying a letter. He walked to the window and let her in, removing the letter and giving the owl a treat before sitting at his desk and opening the letter.

 _Moony,_

 _I know you met with Padfoot yesterday and you didn't believe what he told you at the end of your meeting. Unfortunately I can't say everything I'd like to in this letter incase it gets intercepted, but I wanted you to know that everything he told you is true._

 _There was a meeting that night and my wife and I left our children with a 'friend.' Please give me a chance to prove it. Meet me at Hogwarts on Tuesday at two._

 _Can't wait to see you, Padfoot said you're looking old, but I'm sure it's just your furry little problem._

 _You're deer friend_

Remus couldn't help but smile when he read the letter. He would recognize the writing anywhere and this reaffirmed his belief that James really was alive. He knew that he now needed to talk to Cassie, so he put the letter in his pocket and mad his way up to her room.

He knocked on her door and opened it when he heard a small 'come in'.

Cassie was reading when Remus came into the room. She sat up and motioned for Remus to come sit next to her.

"So we obviously need to talk," he said as he sat down.

"Yeah," she smiled a little. "Is this about what Sirius said?"

"Yeah. Cassie what I'm going to tell you is going to be a lot to take in, I want you to know that I wouldn't be telling you this If I didn't believe it was true."

Cassie looked concerned, "Remus what happened? I thought you said that the meeting went okay?"

"It did, the meeting went fine, it was just that some of the things that Sirius told me took me by surprise."

Cassie just nodded and motioned for him too continue

"Well, after we confirmed our identities to either we went to Dumbledore's office. I told them both about what had happened to me and Sirius informed me that Natalie didn't die, that the Death Eaters had lied to me."

Cassie gasped, "Aunt Nat is alive? Did you go see her? Should we go back to England today?"

"Cassie, slow down, there is more. I was surprised as well and well; eventually we got to talking about you. I told them that you didn't die that night and that you were actually kidnapped. They were surprised but they believed me."

Remus took a deep breath "they realized that you must not remember that night because the story that the daily prophet gave out wasn't correct."

Cassie just looked confused how was it incorrect? "All it said was that Voldemort came to our house, killed me and my parents, tried to kill Harry but because my mom gave her life for him the curse rebounded and killed Voldemort."

Remus nodded, "the prophet was wrong, that isn't what happened. The night that Voldemort came you're parents were called away to an emergency meeting and left you and Harry with Peter."

Cassie just shook her head

"Cassie, you're parents weren't there when you were attacked or kidnapped, Harry survived that night because you willingly gave your life for him, not your mom."

Cassie was looking disbelieving at what Remus was trying to tell her. "But if my parents weren't there that night, that would mean that they're...they're..."

"Yes Cassie, you're parents are alive."

Cassie covered her mouth with her hands as her eyes welled up with tears. "Are you sure?" she asked in a high-pitched voice.

Remus pulled out the letter from his jacket, "I received this letter just before I came in here, it's in your father's writing."

Cassie grabbed the letter and read it several times through, "my dad's alive?" She asked looking hopeful.

"Yeah sweetie, your dad's alive."

Cassie began to cry as she hung on to the letter. Remus went up to her side and pulled her into his arms. "We have our family back Cass."

Cassie let out a wet chuckle

They sat in a comfortable silence, both thinking about what tomorrow would hold. They would get to see their loved ones again.

After a while they decided they should respond to the letter, so Remus wrote a quick letter saying they would meet James at Dumbledore's office and sent it off with an owl, telling it to hurry. Remus had decided to take Cassie with him so that they could spend the day in England.

* * *

The rest of the day seemed to pass in a blur. It wasn't until later that evening that Cassie became nervous.

"Moony, what's going to happen now? Do I have to go back to England and live with my parents? Do I have to go to Hogwarts?"

Remus sighed and sat by her on the couch. "I'm not sure what exactly is going to happen. Your parents will probably want you to come home and live with them, but I think they will understand that it is your decision. If you want to stay here and finish high school, then I'll stay with you." He said running his hands through her hair.

Cassie smiled, she would never ask Remus to do that for her, not now that he had Natalie back, but she was grateful that he was willing to do that for her.

Cassie was nervous about the thought of living with her parents. For so long it has just been her and Remus. She may have called Remus her uncle, but he was much more of a father to her than an uncle. For the last ten years he was all that she had.

She curled into Remus' side when he put his arm around her. "You and Natalie will live with me right? You won't just leave me with them."

Remus sighed and kissed her forehead. "Cassie I promise that I won't just leave you. We're going to take this slow, if you want to stay here, we will stay here, if you want the two of us to live at Potter Manor, then we will do that. I know that James is your father, but for the last ten years you've been my daughter, that won't change just because you have your biological parents back."

* * *

The following day came quickly for the residents of Potter Manor. The family was sitting at breakfast when an owl dropped a letter in front of James,

 _Deer friend,_

 _I will admit that I found what Padfoot said hard to believe, but now that I've given it thought I've decided to let you prove it. My niece and I will meet you in the headmaster's office at 2:00pm._

 _Moony_

"Lily," said James anxiously handing his wife the letter, "they're coming, both of them."

Lily read through the letter running her hands through her hair. They had been expecting Remus to show up, but hadn't expected him to bring Cassie.

James just looked at his wife "we need to tell the kids," he said glancing towards the three children who were watching their exchange with interest.

Lily just nodded her agreement.

James cleared his throat, "kids, recently we have made some discoveries and we figure it's about time you know about some."

"You mean your going to tell us why you've been so secretive?" Asked Harry

James glanced at his wife; "yes you see several days ago, Sirius got a letter from a man claiming to be your Uncle Moony."

"Uncle Moony?" Asked Liam, "but I thought he died?"

"We thought he had, but we were never certain, Padfoot met with him and he did turn out to be Remus apparently he had been kidnapped and hasn't been able to return until now."

"So we get to meet him?" Asked Harry excitedly.

"Yes, you get to meet him, but there is something else as well, you see there was another person who we believed to be dead who was kidnapped and she had been living with uncle Moony for the last seven years."

The kids just looked at him blankly, unsure of where he was going.

"Kids," said Lily, "your older sister was kidnapped when she was six, she wasn't killed."

The kids just stared at their parents surprised

"Cassie. You mean Cassie is alive?" Asked Harry with a hopeful voice

"Yes, Cassie is alive. You're father and I are going to go and see her today, while you stay with Padfoot."

"But mum," whined Liam, "I want to meet her."

"No, absolutely not, you're mother and I want to speak with her first and when she is comfortable enough, then you can meet her," said James leaving no room for argument.

* * *

When one thirty rolled around Remus and Cassie disguised themselves and took a portkey to Hogsmeade. They made their way towards Hogwarts and the moment that Cassie saw the castle her jaw dropped.

Remus just chuckled, "I had the exact same reaction the first time I saw it."

When they entered the castle Cassie was distracted by everything she came across, she was surprised by how magical the place felt.

"If we have time later I can give you a tour of the school," said Remus.

"Ooh can we see the Great Hall? I want to see the ceiling." She said excitedly.

When they reached the two gargoyles that led the way up to Dumbledore's office, they both came to a stop. Each of them took a deep breath and Remus said the password. The two slowly made their way up the winding staircase and knocked on the door.

"Enter."

Opening the door slowly they found that only Dumbledore was currently present, but they did manage to get there early and if Remus remembers correctly James and Lily were never very timely.

Dumbledore stood up and walked around his desk. "Remus, its good to see you again and this young lady must be Cassandra."

With a wave of Remus' wand, both of their disguises were lowered.

"Hello Professor, yes this is Cassandra and I believe the last time you saw her she came up to my knee."

Cassie and Dumbledore chuckled, but were grateful to Remus for easing the tension in the room.

Before they could say anymore they saw the fire light up and three people stumble out, one with messy black hair, one with brilliant red hair, and one with smooth blonde hair.

Cassie clung to Remus' arm when she saw the people, she felt bad for acting so childish, but she hadn't seen these people since she was little.

The three figures stood up and dusted themselves off. They looked around the room and made eye contact with the two people they hadn't seen in a long time. All of their eyes filled with tears at the sight of their friend and daughter.

"I'll give you some time to get reacquainted," said Dumbledore as he left the office.

"Remus," breathed Natalie.

Remus let out a strangled sound at his wife's voice. "Natalie," he said and took a few steps towards her when he felt someone grab his arm to stop him.

He looked back to Cassie "That wasn't apart of the plan," she said.

Remus nodded slightly and pulled out his wand pointing it at Natalie, before anyone could protest he asked "What did you do to Sirius the day after he called you a slut in fifth year?"

Natalie laughed "I replaced his shampoo with baby gel, so he'd have trouble getting it out of his hair."

James snorted, "Just wait until I tell him."

Natalie turned to him quickly "You wouldn't dare."

James stuck his tongue out in a very childish manner

"Children," said Lily rolling her eyes "behave."

Remus just laughed, and Cassie gave a small smile. When Remus nodded in Cassie's direction, she pointed her wand at her father.

"What did you say to me after I hid Harry under the Invisibility cloak and after mom grounded me?" she asked quietly in her slight American accent.

James looked at her wide-eyed. She remembered, she remembered hiding her brother from them, it was really her.

"I recommended that you hide him in the cupboard next time instead of the closet, it muffles sounds better."

The answer was correct, but Cassie didn't lower her wand, she gripped it tighter. "Transform," she said still pointing her wand at James.

James nodded, and in a second there was an elegant stag standing in his place.

"Prongs," said Cassie lowering her wand. She looked at Lily and then back towards the stag, her eyes filling with tears. "You're really alive."

Lily took a few hesitant steps forward, "Cassandra, we're really here sweetie," she said reaching out her hand.

Cassie quickly looked back at Remus who nodded at her encouragingly with tears in his own eyes.

Cassie filled the distance between her and Lily and Lily pulled her into a hug, crying into her hair. James, who had transformed again, joined them and all three of them sunk to the floor.

Remus and Natalie looked at each other with large smiles and Remus went to Natalie, lifting her into his arms. "I'm so sorry I left, I never meant to leave you," he said.

"It wasn't your fault and besides you're back now."

When James, Lily, and Cassie broke apart Lily and Cassie stayed kneeling on the floor, Lily was running her hands through her daughter's hair. James stood up and made his way over to Remus.

When Remus saw James approaching he and Natalie broke apart. James pulled Remus into a hug "I'm glad you're okay Moony."

"I'm glad your alive Prongs," said Remus, still holding on to James.

When they broke apart James looked back to his wife and daughter. "Thank you for taking care of her, I thought she was dead, but she's okay."

Remus just smiled at him "She's a strong girl James. You need to know that she's been through a lot, so we need to take this slow."

James looked back at Remus and nodded.

"She was saying that she'd like a tour of Hogwarts, if you wanted you could show her." Said Remus.

James just nodded and smiled gratefully and walked back to his wife and daughter.

"I've always loved the beach, but I've only been there a couple of times," James heard Lily saying.

"So Cassie, do you want a tour of the school?" Both Lily and Cassie looked up when James walked over to them.

"Sure, that'd be nice," said Cassie with a shy smile. "Remus, they're going to show me around," she said looking towards her uncle.

"Okay, send word if you need anything."

Cassie nodded her consent and then left the office with her parents. She couldn't believe it; she was actually going to be shown around by her parents. She had been excited about seeing them for the last twenty-four hours, but to actually be standing and talking with them felt like a dream. It was weird to think that yesterday morning she believed herself to be an orphan.

She was brought out of her thinking by her father, "Cassie? Are you okay? You tuned out for a little bit there," he said looking concerned.

She smiled sheepishly "I'm fine, it's just weird seeing you two."

James smiled and put his arm around her "We completely understand. It seems unreal that two days ago we thought you were dead, but now you're here, very much alive."

James wanted to show her Gryffindor tower, so they were making their way there, stopping every so often when one of her parents wanted to show her something specific.

"So Cassie, what do you do for school? I don't know much about the magical schools in America…" Lily trailed off, looking at her daughter.

"Oh, I don't actually go to a magical school," she responded. "America has several magical schools, but most of them are just day schools, not boarding schools. Many witches and wizards are homeschooled in magic and go to a muggle school during the day."

Lily looked thoughtful "I think that's a pretty neat idea. There are some subjects that muggles teach that would be useful in the magical world."

Cassie just shrugged, "it's fine, although it can be a pain to spend all day at school and then go home to learn about magic. And some classes are very pointless."

"So do you play any sports?" asked James, wanting to change the topic from schoolwork.

Cassie gave him a knowing smile "I do track and cross country."

"I have never heard of either of those," said James

Cassie chuckled "it's basically just running. Cross country is long distance running in nature and track is running around a track."

James looked revolted "why would you choose to run?"

"Don't worry Cassie, your father only likes one sport, he thinks everything else takes too much effort," said Lily with a glare in James' direction.

"Don't worry dad, I like Quidditch as well," said Cassie nudging her father.

James eyes lit up when she called him dad. "I know that I would take you up on the broom when you were little, but have you played recently?"

"Yeah, my friend Jon has quite a few friends who are wizards and they play pick up games quite often. I've joined him a couple of times."

"What position?" asked James.

"I've tried chaser and beater, although I was better as a chaser," said Cassie, knowing her dad was a chaser.

They all paused once they reached the entrance to Gryffindor tower. The fat lady wasn't currently in her portrait, so they weren't able to get in. They turned and made their way towards the kitchens, which James said was his second favorite place in the entire school.

"So this Jon person, is he a friend, or you know a friend?" asked Lily waggling her eyebrows.

Cassie laughed, "Just a friend, I'm not really his type."

"Nonsense, how are you not his type?"

"Well for one thing I'm a girl."

James snorted

"Besides," said Cassie, "even if he wasn't gay we wouldn't be together. I love him a lot, but he's always been more of a brother."

"Good," said James. "You're far too young to be dating."

Cassie smiled, even though she strongly disagreed with her dad, she was glad to see he was as overprotective as Remus said he was.

"James, she's sixteen, you do realize I was only a year older than her when I was pregnant with her?"

Cassie wrinkled her nose while James paled.

"You are absolutely not old enough to date," he said looking worried.

Lily rolled her eyes. "So, do you have a boyfriend?"

Cassie shook her head "nope, I am happily single, for now."

James nodded his head in agreement, "good."

"So how about you two? What do you do now?" asked Cassie looking back and forth from her parents.

"Well, I teach History of Magic here," said James "and your mother stays at home with the kids, although sometimes she'll brew potions for different people."

Cassie stopped walking and just stared at her parents "kids?"

Both James and lily's eyes grew wide; they had forgotten Cassie wouldn't have known about her other siblings.

"Y-yeah" said James "after you were kidnapped um… well…" He stammered looking to Lily for help.

"We had two other kids after Harry," inputted Lily.

Cassie looked shocked. She didn't know what she had expected; of course they would have had more kids. It wasn't even that she minded having more siblings; she just hadn't been expecting it.

"Cassie?" asked Lily grabbing her daughter's hand.

"I'm fine, it's fine, I'm just surprised is all," she said with a genuine smile. "I guess for the last ten years all I've thought about is Harry so it didn't even cross my mind that you would have more kids."

James smiled "Harry turns eleven next month, Liam is seven and will be eight in November, and Emma is five and will be six in September."

"We told them this morning that you were alive, they're all really excited to meet you."

"I'm excited to meet them too," said Cassie rather faintly.

* * *

When the three Potters left the office Remus stared after them fondly. He was happy for Cassie, she was so young and had been through so much, she deserved to have her family back.

"Knut for you thoughts?" asked Natalie smiling at Remus with slightly watery eyes.

Remus turned to her and kissed her on the forehead, "I'm glad she has her parents back, she was so excited to see Harry again, and now she'll have all three of them."

Natalie looked away with a slight grimace. "Actually, there are five Potters, six counting Cassie."

Remus jerked her head towards her with wide eyes "f-five?" he stuttered.

"Yes, they had two more kids after Harry. Liam is seven and Emma is five."

Remus looked away with a vacant expression.

"Remus, what's wrong?"

"Is it my fault that she doesn't know them? If I had brought her back sooner or tried to get in touch sooner, then she would have had more time with them."

Natalie cupped his face with her hand and turned him to face her. "It's not your fault Rem, you were doing what you thought was best for her. I would have done the same thing if I thought everyone was dead."

"But still, if I had contacted Sirius sooner-"

"Remus," interrupted Natalie "you and Cassie were kidnapped and held in captivity for three years. Sure, she might have had a couple more years with her parents and siblings, but you've kept her safe this whole time and that's what matters most. It doesn't matter anymore, you're both okay and you're both back now."

Remus smiled in acknowledgment and leaned down resting his forehead to hers. "I suppose you're right," he said and leaned in to kiss her.

They broke apart when they heard the door opening and watched as the headmaster walked in.

"Ah, I saw James, Lily, and Cassandra walking around and I wasn't sure if you two were still in here," said Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eye.

"We were just getting ready to leave professor," said Remus.

"Please Remus, call me Albus, I have not been your professor for many years." Dumbledore paused "there is however, something I wish to discuss with you. I know that you, James, and Lily will have a lot of catching up to do, however I wanted to discuss Cassandra's magic. Is she still as powerful as she was when she was little?"

Remus chuckled and nodded, "Yes sir, she's actually quite a bit more powerful than she was when she was little."

"I would have thought so," said Dumbledore inscrutably. "What has her magical training been like so far?"

"Well she currently goes to a muggle high school, but I've been teaching her proper magic since she was eleven. She's very advanced for her age and has almost complete control over her wandless abilities, her magic only acts out when she's very emotional." Remus paused looking away darkly. "You have to remember that Voldemort wanted to use her as a weapon, they taught her magic when she was little, not very good magic. I would say she has knowledge in dark magic, although she never uses it."

"That is perfectly understandable Remus, besides some of the best people know dark magic. The only thing that makes magic dark is how you choose to use it." Dumbledore patted his arm consolingly, "Where do you think she would fit year wise?"

"She would be a sixth year, she took her O.W.L.s a couple of months ago and we're still waiting for the results. I imagine she'd be able to keep up with the seventh years, but I'm sure she'd prefer being with kids her own age."

"Very well, I understand that all of you will need to have a discussion on what Cassandra wants to do, but she of course has a place at Hogwarts if she would like to attend."

Remus nodded with a large grin, "Thank you Pro- um Albus. We'll talk about it and let you know," he said grabbing Natalie's hand and heading towards the door.

"Remus," said Dumbledore, Remus paused and turned around, "It's good to have you back m'boy."

Remus smiled and glanced at Natalie, still holding her hand tight in his. "It's good to be back sir."

They bade their farewells and the two of them left the office, running into the three Potters at the bottom of the stairs.

"We were just going to come find you," said Natalie.

"Well look no further, for here we are my darling Nat," said James with a flirty smile and a wink.

"Oh dear Merlin, I'm so sorry for leaving you with them," said Remus staring at James.

Lily and Natalie laughed while James pouted.

"Cass, I know it's been a long time and you were really young, but do you remember me?" asked Natalie hesitantly.

Cassie smiled "of course I remember you, I don't remember much before my fourth birthday and I don't remember that Halloween night, but I remember a surprising amount from before it happened," said Cassie awkwardly, scrunching up her nose when she heard the words she said. "That didn't make much sense, but yeah."

The adults just laughed and Natalie pulled Cassie into a hug "I've missed you a lot."

The other three just smiled at the reunion and Lily turned to Remus frowning. "You haven't given me a hug yet."

Remus smiled "I am ever so sorry my dear Lily, it's just that it feels like I hug you every day with your little mini-me living with me," he said smirking slightly. He walked over to her and picked her up spinning her around once and kissing her on the cheek. "It's really good to see you Lils," he said.

Lily laughed and looked fondly at her daughter who was still being crushed by Natalie. "It's good to see you too Remus," she said looking back at him. "Thanks for taking care of my mini-me."

"Well shall we go to Potter Manor? I know there are four people who are very anxious to see you both," said James throwing his arm around Cassie and walking her towards the front doors.

Remus nudged Cassie and raised his eyebrows, asking if it was okay with her. She nodded slightly, but looked a little nervous.

"Sounds good," said Remus grabbing Natalie's hand.

With that the five of them made their way onto the grounds of Hogwarts and towards the apparition point to head to Potter Manor.


	11. Siblings and Small Discussions

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

 **AN: Thanks to the four people who have reviewed, I really appreciate your feedback!**

CHAPTER TWELVE

Siblings and Small Discussions

Walking through the doors of Potter Manor was a flashback for Cassie. She had never been to Hogwarts, well other than when she was a baby, but she had been here, visiting her grandparents.

She smiled at the memories playing in her head, memories of her grandmother rushing to the door to meet her and her grandfather pulling her into a dance in the entryway. She didn't remember very much about her grandparents, since they died when she was only four, but all the memories she did have of them were very fond memories.

She walked slowly through the entrance hall, slightly behind everyone else, looking around with a reminiscent smile. The manor was rather small compared to most other manors, but it was still large when compared to houses. The entryway had a tall ceiling with a sun window on top and white marble floors. There was one staircase on the side that led to the upper floor. The house consisted of seven bedrooms, four bathrooms, a living room, dining room, a large kitchen, a loft, two offices, and a small ballroom. In the backyard there was a nice garden, a decent size pond, as well as a two bedroom, one bathroom pool house.

Cassie trailed behind her family, each of the men had their arms around their wives and they were laughing about something, although Cassie wasn't paying much attention. They walked through the living room and Cassie paused at the pictures on top of the fireplace.

In the very center was a picture of the five Potters. James and Lily were in the middle, a Messy black haired boy was standing on Lily's left, while a messy red haired boy was standing on James's right, and a little black haired girl was in James' arms. Cassie smiled at the picture. It was obvious which one was Harry, he was the only one with Green eyes and Cassie often had dreams, well Nightmares, about those green eyes.

They all looked happy, but Cassie couldn't help but feel slightly envious that she wasn't in the picture as well. She knew she shouldn't feel that way, but it was hard knowing that all three of them had happy lives with her parents and she didn't.

Cassie looked at the other pictures on the fireplace. Most of them were of the kids, laughing and doing various activities such as flying or playing tag. There were some older ones that Cassie had seen before, like the one of her parents dancing at there wedding. She also saw a couple pictures of herself, obviously nothing recent. One was of her in her father's arms at their wedding. Another was of her riding a children's broomstick, her toes skimming the grass. The last one of her was a rather worn picture, it looked like it had been held a lot, and it was of her just laughing.

"You're father will probably have to replace that picture now that you're older," came a voice from her side. She turned quickly, surprised. She hadn't heard anyone approach; apparently she had been too lost in thought.

She grinned brightly when she saw the man; he was a tall handsome man with aristocratic features, shoulder length black hair, and distinct gray eyes.

"Uncle Paddy," she whispered, still smiling.

Sirius smiled wide and his eyes filled with tears. He grabbed Cassandra and hugged her close, tears falling into her hair.

Cassie was surprised, she had never seen him cry before, and he was always the strongest person she knew. He would always shrug it off whenever her mom yelled at him and he was the one who provided support when her grandparents died. Although, now that she thought about it, she was just a little girl and so he probably would try _not_ to cry in front of her.

They stood there for a moment; Cassie's head was buried in his chest as he cried into her hair.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered.

Cassie pulled back wiping her own tears from her eyes. She was confused, why would he be sorry.

"Why are you sorry?" she asked smiling softly.

Sirius brushed her hair out of her face and wiped a few stray tears from her eyes.

"You wouldn't have disappeared if I hadn't suggested Peter as secret keeper, I could have protected you if I had stayed when you asked me to," he said quietly.

"It's not your fault, nobody knew Peter was a spy and even though I don't remember what happened that night, I don't blame you for anything. I never have," she said kindly, leaning in and wrapping her arms around his waist again.

"Is that why you have gray hair now?" she asked innocently.

Sirius pulled her back abruptly with surprised eyes. "I do not have gray hair."

Cassie smirked, "So this is what, silver?" she asked holding a piece of gray hair. "Were you going for Slytherine colors?"

Sirius gaped, "you've been back for five minutes and you're already picking on me?"

Cassie shrugged, "I've gotta start sometime."

Sirius smiled fondly, "that's my girl," he said flinging his arm over her shoulders. "So what do you say we head into the dining room where the rest of the family is? They might send out a search party if they don't see you soon."

Cassie gave a small nod and a nervous smile. She wanted to meet her siblings, she had been dying to see Harry again, and she just didn't know what it would be like. With her parents it was one thing, they _knew_ her when she was little, none of her siblings did. Well Harry did, but he was far too young to remember her. Would they like her? Would they think she was weird? Would they want her to leave?

As if he could tell what she was thinking, Sirius said, "Your siblings will love you. They haven't stopped talking about you all day. Just be yourself and you'll be fine.

Cassie gave a grateful smile and followed Sirius into the dining room.

When she entered the dining room it was to find that everyone was sitting down around the table munching on cookies. Everyone had looked at her and Sirius when they entered and Cassie found herself becoming uncomfortable under the attention. Remus, noticing this, looked to Lily and said "these are absolutely amazing Lils, they are just about as good as Cassie's," he said winking towards his niece.

Cassie smiled gratefully at her uncle and took a seat next to him, Sirius sitting on her other side.

Lily smiled brightly and looked at her oldest child, "you bake then? You used to help me when you were little."

Cassie smiled, "yeah I love baking, it's probably my second favorite thing to do after running."

Cassie looked around the table and her eyes immediately fell on Harry. He smiled shyly at her and her face lit up.

The adults were amazed at how quickly her attitude changed when she saw Harry. He had always had a calming effect on her, but to see her go from tense and uncomfortable to confident and collected was pretty amazing.

James cleared his throat and got the attention of everyone in the room. "So obviously, I'm pretty sure you've all realized who everyone is, but I'll do introductions anyways. Kids, this man on the right of Aunt Natalie is your Uncle Moony," he said pointing to Remus who just smiled kindly at each of the kids. "And the girl to his right is your sister, Cassandra," he said proudly.

"Remus, Cass, Harry is the one with messy black hair," James continued, pointing to Harry who sat next to his mother. "Emma, is the one sitting next to Harry, and Liam is on her other side."

Everyone just smiled at each other, but nobody said anything.

After a few moments of staring at one another and eating cookies, Liam broke the silence.

"So, Cassie, do you like pranks?" he said, trying to sound innocent and avoiding his mothers glare.

Cassie just smiled at her youngest brother, "not really, I've found that I'm not very good at them and I much prefer stimulating intellect over childish games," she said seriously.

Remus snorted, but attempted to cover it up as a cough. The other four adults looked at her questioningly. She was always clever when she was little, but she was also incredibly mischievous, so the thought of her changing that drastically was slightly surprising.

Liam looked down dejectedly, he had been hoping to have a partner in crime, but at least he'd be able to play a prank on her.

Harry however, didn't look convinced; he gave her a knowing look, smiling slightly.

Emma got off her chair and walked around the table and crawled onto Sirius' lap. Once she was up there she crawled over him and onto Cassie.

Cassie just laughed as she held onto her sister; she had to admit her sister was cute. They looked absolutely nothing like each other, which was different from Cassie and her other two siblings. Harry and Cassie had the same eyes, while Cassie and Liam had the same hair, nose, and mouth.

"So if you don't like playing pranks, do you like playing with dolls? Or horses?" asked Emma looking at Cassie with large hazel eyes.

"Well I haven't played with any of that since I was your age, but I'll try it if you want," she responded smiling down at the cute little girl.

Emma nodded happily and reached towards another cookie, still sitting comfortably in her sister's lap.

The occupants of the table gave a small laugh, while Lily looked down sadly. She was sad that Cassie's childhood ended when she was only six. Sure, Cassie had escaped when she was nine, but you could tell by her eyes that she didn't have an easy life. Her eyes looked far older than sixteen.

The rest of the day had gone by quickly. They had a nice dinner prepared by Lily and Remus. And they continued the small talk throughout the night. Cassandra didn't talk very much about herself, she talked a little bit about her friends, about school, and about her dog, but nothing beyond that. Remus talked about teaching, and both Remus and James compared the teaching of their two subjects, since both of them taught history.

Harry was also rather quiet throughout the meal. He was happy that Cassie was there, he felt almost complete, not that he noticed feeling incomplete before. He seemed to have a connection with Cassie, one that he never had with Liam or Emma.

Liam talked animatedly to Sirius and Cassie about all of the different pranks that he used to pull. Cassie nodded and gasped in all the right places, but she really didn't act very interested in it. Sirius couldn't help but wonder if maybe she really had changed in that area.

When dinner and desert were finished, James and Lily sent their two youngest children off to bed. Each of the kids gave Cassie and Remus hugs, Emma even wanted Cassie to go and stay in her room that night, but Lily had told her that Cassie would have her own room.

As much as Cassie liked being back with her family, she couldn't help but feel like a guest in their house. She hated admitting it, but she wanted to go home. She and Remus hadn't talked about staying the night, but Cassie really just wanted to sleep in her own bed, with her dog and talk to Jon about everything in the morning.

She felt guilty about wanting to leave and she didn't want to ask Remus to go with her. Remus just got his wife back and Cassie didn't want to come in the way of that. She also didn't want to hurt her parents by asking to leave.

When James and Lily came back down from tucking in their two youngest, the rest of the occupants stood up to make their way into the living room.

When they stood up Remus pulled Cassie into a hug, bending his head so his mouth was by her ear. "Be honest, do you want to go home?" He whispered so that only she could hear him.

Cassie nodded slightly and Remus pulled away smiling and kissing her on the forehead. Remus nodded and made his way towards Natalie.

Cassie went and sat on the couch by Harry who smiled at her and leaned on her.

"I'm assuming that you're actually really good at pranks, right?" he asked with a small smirk.

Cassie smiled, "We've only just met and you already know me too well."

Harry giggled "You have the same look in your eyes that mum does when she's being sneaky. Dad can't hide anything, but mum is really good at it."

Cassie smiled fondly at her little brother; it appeared that he was a very clever little boy, even if he was a little quiet.

* * *

Remus knew that Cassie probably wouldn't want to stay the night. They hadn't talked about it before, because he figured it wouldn't even be an option. So when he asked her, he hadn't been surprised by her answer.

He made his way over to Natalie. He didn't want to leave her, he'd actually prefer it if she came with him, but he needed to be there for Cassie. Merlin knew how overwhelming this must be for her. She's been through far too much in her short sixteen years of life, and he didn't want to give her more than she could handle.

Natalie smiled at him and grabbed his hand. He glanced back towards Cassie and took a deep breath.

"Natalie, I think I'm going to take Cassie home for the night."

Natalie frowned slightly, but didn't look surprised. "Are James and Lily going to be okay with that?"

Remus shrugged, "I know they probably want her to stay here, but she wants to go home for the night, and I'm not going to force her to stay."

Natalie nodded slightly "Do you want me to come with you?" she asked, hopeful, even though she already knew the answer.

Remus looked down sadly, "You know I do, but I have to be there for her. This is a lot for her to take in and I can't let her think that I'm deserting her. She's going to need me now more than ever."

Natalie looked at him with understanding "I think it's good for her to have someone like you there to help. I agree, we all promised when she was born that we would care for her and make her happy."

Remus kissed her deeply. When he pulled back he stared at her, "Thank you, for understanding."

She smiled and cupped his face with her hand. "You better not disappear on me Remus Lupin."

He smiled "I wouldn't dream of it Natalie Lupin," he said and he kissed her again.

Natalie laughed, "Now go tell James and good luck prying her from his grip," she said giving him a small shove towards James.

Remus made his way towards James who was laughing with Sirius and Lily about something. He glanced quickly towards Cassie, who was sitting with Harry on the couch.

The three looked up when they saw Remus approach, and their smiled dropped when they saw his face.

Remus looked at them in confusion, "Why do you all look so upset now that I'm over here?"

"It isn't that mate," said James, shaking his head. "You have that look."

"What look?" asked Remus, still looking confused.

"The look that says 'I need to tell you something, but I really don't want to,'" responded Sirius.

"Oh," said Remus, rubbing the back of his neck and smiling sheepishly. "Well, you see, I was thinking and I think it'll be best…" Remus trailed off and glanced quickly at his friends each of whom had amused looks on their faces.

He took a deep breath before blurting out "James, Lily, I'm going to take Cassie home tonight."

All three of their faces dropped into frowns.

"But, Remus, she is home," said James looking slightly sad.

Remus closed his eyes taking another deep breath, "James, I told you earlier that we needed to take this slow," he said, looking into his friends hazel eyes. "This is a lot for her to take in, yesterday she thought she was an orphan and now she's met not only her parents, aunt, and uncle, but also her three siblings."

James looked like he wanted to argue, but Lily beat him to it.

"Well is that just what you think? Or does she want to leave?" asked Lily.

"I wouldn't have her do anything she doesn't want to do Lils. She wants to sleep in her own bed tonight and think things through."

James still looked disbelieving, "Are you sure? Why didn't she say anything to us?"

"I'm positive Prongs. I asked her if she wanted to go home and she said yes. She didn't tell you because she didn't want to hurt your feelings." He paused and took in the sad looks on Lily's and James faces. "Look, over time she will get used to it, and I'm sure she'll want to live here. But we have to give her time, if we push her too fast she will shut down, trust me I've seen it."

James and Lily looked concerned and opened their mouths to ask what he meant by that, but Remus put up his hand to silence them.

"I won't tell you about her life tonight, I actually think it'll be better for her to tell you about her life." He sighed "If you want we can come back tomorrow for a while, or you might even be able to come to our place."

Lily and James shared a glance and they both nodded in acceptance. Even though they wanted her to stay, they understood that she needed her time and they didn't want to rush her too much.

Remus turned to Cassie "Cass, we should go so we can get and get some sleep, we can get Bumper from Jon in the morning."

Remus pulled out a piece of paper and wrote his address on it, handing it to James. "So that you know where we are incase you need us," he said and James smiled gratefully.

Cassie turned to her Aunt Natalie, who was sitting on the couch next to her, and gave her a hug. She then turned to Harry and hugged him tightly as well. Harry blushed, but hugged his sister back with a large smile on his face.

Cassie stood up and Hugged Sirius and her mother both of whom kissed her on the forehead and told her to sleep well. When she hugged her father, he had slight difficulty letter her go.

After a while, he did pull away and Cassie just laughed. "Dad, I'm only leaving for the night, I'll see sometime tomorrow."

James smiled weakly "The last time I said goodbye to you, you disappeared for ten years."

Complete silence engulfed the room at his comment. It was true; James had left saying goodbye to his daughter, only to come back to a destroyed house and a belief that his daughter was dead.

Cassie hugged him again, "It won't happen this time, Remus will be with me and I've learned some neat tricks," she said pulling back from her father.

She pointed her finger towards the end of the room like a gun, aiming at a small glass figuring. Closing one eye she said "Phew," and watched as the glass figuring shattered into a million pieces on the floor.

Sirius snorted while James raised his eyebrow at her giving her an amused look.

Cassie just looked back innocently, while holding up her finger to her mouth and blowing, like one would a gun.

Everyone in the room just laughed, while Remus rolled his eyes. "Sorry James, she's been watching too many of those old western movies."

James just shook his head laughing, "Okay I suppose I'll let you go for tonight," he pulled her into one last hug before Remus and Cassie made their way towards the door.

Cassie paused at the broken glass still sitting on the floor and she waved her hand over it. It repaired itself perfectly; she picked it up and placed it back on the stand. She looked over her shoulder at her family, most of which were staring at her surprised.

"Sorry mum," she said with a cheeky smile and followed Remus out the door, closing it behind her.


	12. A Day in Florence

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, anything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling.**

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

A Day in Florence

Cassie woke up early the following morning. She had tossed and turned all night, thinking about the recent events and what would happen next. She groaned and rolled onto her side to look at her alarm clock. It was five am; she figured Remus wouldn't be up for another couple of hours. She rolled out of bed, pulling on some shorts and a running t-shirt. She figured if anything could help her clear her head, running would. Then she could go see Jon afterwards.

After leaving a quick not for Remus telling him she'd be back later and he could make the plans for the day, she left.

Running was one of the things she enjoyed most in life. She figured it might have something to do with the fact that when she was trapped in the manor and when her and Remus were on the run she felt so confined. When she ran it was like nothing could stop her, it was just she, the wind, and the winding roads. It reminded her of her freedom.

After several blocks, she let her mind wonder. She was thinking about her family. She had fun the previous day, her siblings were all great, her parents were very similar to how she remembered them. Sirius was the same, although it was obvious that the last ten years had aged him, made him more mature. Aunt Natalie seemed the same, although she did seem quieter and didn't laugh as much.

One thing she was worried about was what was going to happen to her life here, in America. Part of her did want to go back and live with her parents and her siblings, maybe even go to Hogwarts for her final two years. But another part of her wanted to stay. Stay with her friends and with Remus. Graduate school and find a college to attend with Zach and Jon. It seemed almost impossible to combine the two lives. If she left, she'd be in _England,_ which was a rather large distance away. Really the only person who could come see her was Jon, since he's the only person who actually knows about her.

If she stayed, how would her family feel? She had seen the frightened and upset look in her father's eyes when Remus told him they were leaving. Would he be even more upset if she told him she wanted to stay in America?

No, deep inside she knew that she would have to go back to England. Remus had a wife there; although she was sure Natalie would offer to come to America, she couldn't ask either of them to do that. Her family was there; she knew they wanted her back.

She felt a small ache when she accepted the fact that she would be leaving Florence. This small town was her safe haven. This was the place she came to after so much suffering. This was the place that helped her heal. She knew that she would miss it greatly, but she had to go. Maybe one day when she was married and had kids, they could come back.

Cassie hadn't realized how far she had run until she found herself at the docks. She used to come here often; there was one large dock that stretched out a little ways into the ocean. There weren't very many waves that came through this area, so the dock was still pretty sturdy. She discovered this place about a year after she moved here. It was always an excellent place to think or relax; therefore it was one of her favorite places to come alone. She had spent many evenings out here, simply watching the sunset.

She sat down at the edge of the dock, simply watching the waves contentedly. She knew the next few months would be difficult, but she was sort of excited for this new chapter in her life. When she looked at her watch, she realized that she had already been gone for an hour and a half. She was surprised, because the run here took about twenty-five minutes, and it certainly didn't feel like she had been sitting here for an hour. She stood up, looking at the ocean one last time, before running back towards her house.

She reached her neighborhood at around 7:00am and decided to go see Jon before she headed home. She walked towards his house, allowing her heart rate to slow down, before knocking on his front door.

She stood by the door awkwardly for a few minutes before it was opened to reveal a petite woman, with dark brown hair and beautiful blue eyes.

"Arianna," She said surprised looking around outside as though expecting to see some unexpected danger. "Is everything alright?"

Cassie smiled guiltily, "I'm so sorry, I didn't even realize that it would still be early when I got here. Everything's fine, I was just hoping to talk to Jon," she said, still looking guilty.

Erin just smiled kindly, "of course dear," she said pulling her into a motherly hug. "Jon told me that you and Remus were going through a lot recently. He's still asleep, but you are welcome to wake him." She proceeded to pull Cassie into the house and lead her towards his room.

"Thanks, Erin," she said smiling. Erin was the single mother of two children, Jon and Laila. She was a witch, but she married a muggle and decided not to tell him until five years into their marriage when Jon was four and Laila was one. He took the news hard, and the following morning he had packed his bags and left.

Cassie was still very fond of Erin. She was a very realistic, but lively woman. She was the kind of woman who took everything that life threw at her in stride. She used to wish that Erin and Remus would get together, although she knew their personalities would clash horribly, and Remus had never gotten over Natalie enough to even consider being serious with anyone.

After Erin shuffled off into the kitchen, Cassie made it to Jon's room and opened the door without knocking. He was spread out on one side of the bed, still fast asleep, while her dog Bumper was sleeping on the bottom of the bed.

Bumper's head had lifted when he heard the door open, and his dog started wagging when he saw Cassie. Cassie just made her way over to the bed and plopped down onto it, she lay on her back and stared at the ceiling.

She glanced sideways at her friend, who was still snoring softly and she poked him in the ribs, hard.

"Ouch," he mumbled as he opened his eyes to see what offensive thing had awoken him. "Cass, it's too early, go to sleep."

He closed his eyes again and she sighed. "It's already seven, don't you want to hear about my parents?"

Jon's eyes snapped open and he sat up quickly, looking at his friend, "I completely forgot, it was them?" He asked sounding slightly surprised.

Cassie just nodded her head and stared back up at the ceiling. "Yeah it was them, they've been alive and just went along with the story of their deaths. They go by Niall and Isabelle Hudson and they are known to have two children, Liam and Emma Hudson."

Cassie sighed and covered her face with her arms "could this situation be any more complicated?" she asked slightly exasperated. "Me and Remus have secret identities, they have secret identities. Everyone is alive and they have been the entire time but because of lies and secrets nobody knew about any of it."

Jon stared at his friend sadly, "I will admit that this is the strangest situation I've ever heard of, but at least you are all alive."

"Yeah," Cassie paused, nodding slightly "it was so weird seeing my parents after so many years of thinking they were dead. They look just like I remember them, although my dad did have a few gray hairs."

Jon scooted next to Cassie and pulled her into a hug. "When are you going to see them next?" He asked as she curled into him.

"Today sometime. My dad was hesitant in letting me go last night, I doubt he'd let me go without seeing him today."

Jon smiled into her hair "Well that just means he's missed you and he loves you. You deserve this Cass."

The two of them fell into a comfortable silence, each of them drifting off to sleep. Before either of them could actually reach the blissful state of unconsciousness, the door opened quickly and a teenage girl with light brown hair stood in the doorway, staring amusedly at the two.

"Careful Jon, or she's going to turn you straight," Laila said with a smirk.

Jon just rolled his eyes "I'm too far gone, nobody can turn me."

Cassie just laughed and got off the bed and pulled Laila into a hug, "Morning sunshine."

When Laila pulled back she was smiling brightly, "I didn't know you were coming today! Jon said that you were gone all weekend which is why you couldn't come to brunch, he said that you were dealing with some stuff, but I mean I figured it couldn't be too bad or he'd be super worried, or well at least more worried than-"

"Laila!" Cassie shouted in amusement. The teenager had always said a lot in a very short amount of time and Cassie found that you had to shout to stop her rant or she'd go on for hours. "There was some family stuff that Remus and I had to take care of, but it's all going to be okay, and I couldn't sleep last night so I decided to stop by."

"Oh, well I'm glad," responded Laila, "Now come on, mom said that breakfast is ready," she said grabbing Cassie's hand and pulling her out of the room.

Cassie and Laila walked into the kitchen with a sleepy Jon trailing closely behind him. It had been a while since Cassie had been there and she couldn't deny that she has missed it. The house was fairly small, but it was cozy. Erin wasn't necessarily a neat freak and so the house was usually somewhat messy. It was just one of those homes that encouraged anyone who entered to be themselves.

They sat down at the kitchen table where Erin was already drinking her coffee and eating some toast.

"So Arianna," started Erin when everyone was seated "Jon told me that you and Richard had to deal with some stuff in England. Did everything turn out okay?"

Cassie smiled and nodded, glancing quickly at Jon who was completely absorbed in his bacon and eggs. "Yes, it went fine. I think we'll still be going back quite often for the next little while, but everything is fine," she said smiling honestly.

The rest of the meal passed by with small talk. Even though Erin and Laila were interested in what was going on with Cassie and Remus, they didn't ask, knowing that the two of them were rather secretive about a few things.

Jon was the only person who knew the real story about Cassie and Remus, although Erin and Laila knew that both of them were magical, they didn't know their real stories or their real names. Although Cassie had the suspicion that they knew the stories her and Remus had come up with weren't entirely accurate.

It was nearing ten o'clock and Jon was talking with his mother about spells that might be able to render a person invisible. Cassie and Laila were playing a game of hangman on a napkin, talking about Laila's latest crush. They were brought out of their discussions when the phone rang and Erin got up to answer it.

"Ari, mom said there really isn't a spell that can make someone invisible, only disillusionment spells." Said Jon shrugging.

Cassie sighed, "That's what Uncle Richie said too, but he also said that Dumbledore could make himself invisible without an invisibility cloak."

Laila stared between the two with interest. "You want to learn to become invisible?"

Cassie's smile widened, "of course, who wouldn't want to be invisible at will?"

Jon rolled his eyes "you know, when you go back there, you could always ask him."

Cassie looked slightly embarrassed that she hadn't thought of that. She had been thinking for a long time about different forms of advanced magic, she hadn't even thought of speaking with Dumbledore about it yesterday, but now that she was able to talk to him, she supposed she could ask about it at some point.

Erin came back into the room smiling slightly at Cassie, "You're uncle called and said he'd like you to come home because you have some visitors."

Cassie looked surprised at the thought of visitors. Had they already decided to come to Florence? She figured she wouldn't see any of them until the afternoon. Cassie nodded and thanked Erin and began walking towards the door where Bumper was laying.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" asked Jon quickly with an excited glint in his eyes.

Cassie just laughed, "Sure, that'd be great," she said putting the leash on her dog, who was now wagging his tail excitedly.

Jon jumped out of his seat and ran the last few feet towards her. He glanced back at his mom and sister who were looking at him curiously. "Be back in a little bit," he said and followed Cassie out the door.

"You're just excited to meet a couple of dead people," Cassie said, rolling her eyes at her friends' enthusiasm.

"Of course not. I'm excited to meet your family, the world famous deceased Potters," he responded grabbing Bumper's leash from Cassie and walking a little ways in front of her.

"Dude… Keep your voice down," she said flicking him on the back of his head. "And you can't talk about the famous Potters, unless you have read about them in English wizarding history. Which I know for a fact you haven't."

Jon looked back at her in mock offense. "Even if I haven't read about your family in history books, what makes you think I haven't heard of you within the wizarding community?"

Cassie snorted quietly, "Jon, you're as involved in the wizarding community as I am. Besides we're not nearly as famous in America as we were in Europe. America wasn't affected by Voldemort's reign, so they weren't really affected by his disappearance."

Jon sighed, "Yeah, yeah, I suppose you're right."

They had reached Cassie's home and Jon paused to let her go in front of him. She was slightly nervous; she knew she had just seen them yesterday so there really wasn't any reason to be nervous. But, yesterday she was a guest in _their_ home. Today they were guests in _her_ home.

Bumper gave Cassie a comforting lick on the hand, sensing her nervousness, and she opened the door and stepped inside, with Bumper and Jon at her heels.

"Uncle Richie, I'm home!" she shouted. Even though she was pretty sure it was her parents that were there, she didn't want to call him Remus incase it was somebody else.

She heard some scuffling from behind the kitchen door and it opened to reveal a messy haired James Potter, dressed in dark blue jeans and a black T-shirt.

He looked slightly surprised to see that she wasn't alone, but he quickly hid his surprise and smiled at the two. Remus came out right after him and walked over, giving Cassie a quick hug and a kiss on the forehead.

"They were chomping at the bit to come and see you," he said quietly, although Cassie saw her father rub the back of his neck, looking sheepish.

When Remus pulled away from Cassie, he reached out and shook Jon's hand. "All filled in on our crazy lives?" Remus asked, laughing slightly.

By now, all four adults and three children had congregated in the entryway and were watching the scene with interest.

"Remus," said Jon smiling "yes she filled me in and I must say it's a very unusual situation that you're in."

Remus just nodded and bent down to take the leash off of Bumper so he could run around. When the leash was off however, Bumper just sat protectively right in front of Cassie staring at the new comers with interest.

"So um…" Cassie started awkwardly, "everyone, this is Jon, he's been my best friend since we moved here when I was eleven. And he's the only one who knows the entire truth about Remus and I." She paused looking towards everyone, "Jon this is my dad, my mum, my siblings Harry, Liam, and Emma, Remus's wife Natalie, and my godfather Sirius," she said pointing to each of them respectively.

Jon just nodded at each of them, but James stepped forward, reaching out his hand to shake Jon's. He pulled it back quickly when Bumper, who was still situated in front of Cassie, growled.

"Bumper!" Cassie scolded, "be nice, he's my dad."

Bumper stopped growling, but still stared cautiously as James approached and shook Jon's hand. He looked at the dog and then at Cassie questioningly.

"Sorry," Cassie said, grimacing slightly, "he's a bit protective, but he'll warm up to you." Cassie noticing the slight hurt look in her father's eyes added "he didn't like Remus when he first met him either."

James glanced at his friend and smiled at Remus's grimace. There must have been a story behind it, but he figured he could ask about it later.

"Well it's nice to meet you Jon, Cassie told us a lot about you yesterday," said James, turning back towards Jon.

"Nice to meet you too sir," he said. "Cassie and Remus have both told me a lot about you as well. Is it true that you turned all of you professor's hair pink for a week?"

Sirius let out a bark like laugh, while James smiled arrogantly and Remus just shook his head in amusement.

"Yes, we did that in my fourth year. Used a potion instead of a spell so the professors would have to find an antidote for it."

"That's brilliant," said Jon, grinning widely. "There was this one time at school, where our least favorite teacher had given everyone a pop exam, and Cassie, who decided he was doing it to torture us, slipped- Ouch! Cassie what the hell?"

Cassie was looking at him wide-eyed after elbowing him hard in the ribs. "You have to go don't you? You told your mom you'd be back soon?"

Jon just looked at her questioningly and shook his head slightly "she won't care."

Everyone else in the room looked on curiously, except for Remus who looked surprised and slightly angry. "Cassandra Lily Potter," he said slowly, while Cassie cringed, "You did that to Mr. Blackwell? He was out for three days."

Cassie just glared at her friend while he looked at her apologetically. "You know I do think I should probably get going, my mom did want me home after all," he said backing towards the door.

"Coward," she whispered as he opened the door and slipped out. Turning back to Remus, she grimaced at the anger in his face. "It was an accident, I had accidently put too much into his coffee. It was just a laxative, it was just supposed to get us out of the test, but Zach gave me a different kind which was a lot stronger, so I put in too much. I didn't expect it to actually make him sick!"

Remus just shook his head and looked disappointed. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? You always tell me when you make a mistake, I could have made it right?"

"It wasn't a magical mistake, I used a muggle laxative, and I knew you'd be disappointed. I knew he'd get better after a few days, so I didn't bother," she responded guiltily, she always hated disappointing Remus.

Remus ran his hands through his hair "well you're grounded for one week and you have to go and apologize to Mr. Blackwell."

Cassie gaped at him, "It was six months ago!"

Remus shook his head "I don't care, he was your teacher and you shouldn't have done it, you're not aloud to see your friends this week and I'll take you to see Mr. Blackwell tomorrow," he said firmly.

A small cough brought them out of their conversation and they remembered that they weren't alone. Cassie turned bright red when she saw her entire family there and Remus looked a little guilty.

Cassie blinked away a few tears, "I'm going to shower and change," she said, not looking anyone in the eye and running upstairs to her bedroom.

Remus sighed as he watched her run up to her room. He had completely forgotten that her entire family was in the room, if he had remembered he would have had that conversation in private. He looked towards the other occupants and sat down on a bench in the entryway. James and Lily were both looking at him with sadness and slight jealousy, Sirius and Natalie were both looking at him amused, and the three children were grimacing slightly, having been on the receiving end of many punishments.

Remus put his head in his hands and Lily walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay Remus," she said in a slightly strained voice. "I, I w-would have grounded her too."

Remus just shook his head and looked at her sad eyes. "I've been grounding her for years, I know what I told her is right. But she just met you all yesterday and I embarrassed her in front of all of you, that's why I feel bad."

He just sighed and stood up, "I'm going to go apologize." He headed towards the stairs and turned back, looking at James and Lily. "I'm also sorry for grounding her when it's supposed to be your job. I forgot that you all were here, and like I said, I've been doing it for years."

James and Lily just nodded at him and he turned back and walked up the stairs. Remus knew that they would have to discuss it at some point. James and Lily were technically her parents, but Remus had raised her. They would have to find some common ground when it came to punishments and decisions on her behalf. Thankfully she was already sixteen and she was a good girl, so Remus hoped that they wouldn't have to make very many of those decisions.

He knocked on the door and entered when he heard a muffled come in. He opened the door to see Cassie sitting on her bed, showered and dressed in jean shorts and a fitted green t-shirt.

He sighed and sat down beside her. "I'm sorry Cassie, I forgot that they were there, I shouldn't have said any of that in front of them."

She glared at him, "no, you shouldn't have. That was humiliating."

Remus noticed her red-rimmed eyes and he wiped away a few tears that were falling from them. "I swear I didn't mean to upset you, why are you so sad?"

Cassie just sighed and looked away from him, but he could tell that she was still angry. "You grounded me in front of my entire family _and_ Uncle Paddy and Aunt Nat. They don't even know me! I don't want them to think I'm some troubled kid. I want them to want me," she said as the tears fell from her eyes.

"Oh Cass," Remus said as he pulled her into a hug. "You're parents do want you and they want to get to know you. They don't think that you're troubled, if anything I'm sure your father is inwardly grinning that you pulled a prank on a teacher," he said consolingly.

"How can you know though?" she asked, looking at him desperately. "They have three other kids, three other kids that they love more than anything. They thought I died years ago, what if they decide that I'm not like their other children and it would have been better if I had stayed 'Dead'?"

Remus looked surprised, he had no idea she would feel like this. Although, now that he thought about it, it made sense. Even though Cassie did remember her parents, she couldn't remember how much they adored her, mischief and all.

"Cassie, your parents aren't like that at all. They're ecstatic that you are back and they always will be. They won't compare you to their other kids, you are your own person, and they know that. Besides I'm almost entirely sure that Liam is worse than James was, and that is saying something," he said, although she didn't look entirely convinced.

"Cass, you're father apparated over at 9:00am this morning and asked if everyone else could come. When I said yes he sent the patronus and five minutes later you're entire family, Sirius, and Natalie were in our living room. Lily told me that he had been up since seven asking her if it was too early to come over." He paused at her slight smile. He wiped the remaining tears from her eyes, "Besides I think Lily was more upset that I grounded you. She seemed like she wanted the pleasure of doing that herself."

Cassie let out a small chuckle as she hugged Remus. "That's going to be weird. Having three parents instead of one."

He sighed and kissed her on the forehead "yes it will be, but we'll figure it out." He looked down at her and saw her small smile "why don't you go splash some water on your face and come back down, then we can make plans for the day."

"I thought you said I was grounded?" she said smirking slightly.

Remus shook his head and rolled his eyes "That was before I remembered that you had family and friends who were dying to get to know you. You are grounded from seeing your friends here, unless you are in the presence of myself, your parents, or your godfather, and you still have to apologize to Mr. Blackwell, but that's all," he said smiling.

Remus saw her smile back as he left the room. He walked back down stairs and found that the family had congregated in the living room. When he entered all eyes snapped to him, and he noticed James looking past him, hoping to see his daughter.

"Is she alright?" asked Lily also looking behind Remus.

"She's fine, she's just finishing getting ready and then she'll be down," responded Remus.

James and Lily looked like they wanted to ask more, but Sirius interrupted them.

"That was kind of harsh mate," he said grimacing slightly. "Look how much trouble we got into in school, and what she did is definitely something we have done before."

Remus smiled softly and shook his head "I never said that we hadn't. But look at how often we got in trouble for our pranks. James had a letter from Mrs. Potter at least once a week and well my parents would have chewed me out if they weren't so intent on ignoring my existence, and you're parents punished you plenty, even though it was for more sadistic reasons."

James snorted while Sirius nodded grimly. They were saved from responding when Cassie came in. They could tell that she had been crying, but they didn't bring it up. Lily jumped up from her seat and walked over to her daughter, giving her a hug.

"So what should we do today?" asked Cassie looking more relaxed after the hug.

"Well, your father and I thought it might be fun for you to show us around. Show us your favorite spots and maybe we can grab lunch or something," said Lily, beaming.

Cassie nodded, "That sounds fun," she said honestly.

After about five minutes, the group of nine was leaving the house. It was decided that not everyone needed to put on a disguise, since Florence was a fairly safe place full of muggles. Lily however, did disguise herself to look like Remus. It was decided that she would be Remus' sister and Cassie's other aunt and they would both be siblings of Cassie's 'father.' They changed Liam's hair to match Lily's, but kept their eyes the same. They used their typical cover of being the Hudson's and were passing as relatives visiting from England. Sirius changed his eye color to Hazel, to pass as James' brother and Natalie was pretending to be Sirius' wife.

Cassie knew that Erin and Laila would question it, but she figured she would have to tell them the truth eventually. She knew that nobody else would ask, but there would be gossip once they all left. After all, Remus and Cassie rarely talked about their families.

James was excited; this was the first time in many years that he was leaving the house looking like himself, rather than Niall Hudson.

The afternoon rest of the day went quickly. Remus and Cassie showed them all of their favorite places, which included the library, the coffee shop that Cassie worked at, the school that Remus worked at and Cassie attended, and the theatre that they both went to quite often. They had fun walking around downtown and going into all of the little beach shops. They had lunch at the Pelican Café and had dessert at a small bakery owned by an elderly couple.

All day, various members of the community would introduce themselves, to the guests and would try to question them about certain things. Needless to say, by the end of the day, the entire family had their lies down and the town still had many unanswered questions.

They made small talk throughout the day. Usually Remus and Cassie would tell them stories about each of the places they visited, or their best memories. Cassie introduced everyone to her other two friends, when they ran into them and Jon at the bakery. James was slightly surprised to find that Jon acted quite a bit like Remus and Zach acted like Sirius. He couldn't help but wonder if Sirius and Remus had been gay, if they would have been a couple. One thing was certain however; Cassie had very similar taste in friends as James did.

They ended the day sitting on the beach in comfortable silence, each absorbed in their own thoughts. Emma was asleep on her fathers lap; Liam was with Harry building a sandcastle, while everyone else was simply staring at the sunset. They all knew that they still had a long ways to go. There was still so much about Remus's and Cassie's lives that they didn't know, but sitting there as a family, made them all feel much better than they had in many years.

They knew everything would be all right in the end.


	13. Moving and Diagon Alley

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, everything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling**

 **AN: Thanks to those who have reviewed I really appreciate your advice :)**

 **I went back and edited chapter one and two so that it's more of a summary of the pregnancy. I will be going back and editing all of the earlier chapters once i'm a little further along in the story. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Moving and Diagon Alley

The following few weeks had preceded in a similar fashion. Some days Cassie would go to Potter Manor and other days James and Lily would go to Florence. The kids would often accompany them, but not always. Sirius would try to come often as well, but he had to schedule the visits around his work schedule.

Cassie had opened up to her parents and told them all about her life in Florence, including some of the naughtier things she had done, which James cheered at and Lily frowned at. They were becoming more comfortable around each other, but it was still obvious that Cassie didn't completely trust them.

The one topic that they hadn't yet discussed was what happened in Lestrange Manor. Each of the parents had tried to bring it up, but Cassie would usually become tense and quiet. James and Lily decided that they would wait until Cassie was living with them and more comfortable with them to approach the subject again.

After the first week, Natalie had packed a couple of bags and moved in with Cassie and Remus. Because the two of them were planning on moving back to England, Natalie hadn't bothered to bring everything she owned.

Cassie found that ever since Natalie had moved in she was spending more and more time outside of the house. She had always loved her Aunt Natalie. She remembered the vivacious and lively person that used to come over and visit. She was always good for Remus and brought out the fun side in him. Now however, it was obvious how much she had changed.

She seemed clingier than Cassie could remember and she wasn't nearly as fun as she used to be. She actually didn't seem overly joyed whenever Cassie was in the room, which hurt more than anything. Cassie knew she couldn't be selfish, she had had Remus for the last ten years and now Natalie and Remus had a lot of catching up to do, but she couldn't help feel slightly sad at the vast amount of time they spent with each other, while leaving Cassie to find something to do herself.

For the most part, Remus had handled the whole situation well. He was doing his best to get to know Natalie again and still make sure Cassie was okay, but like Cassie, he had noticed his wife's neediness. He always felt guilty because he felt like he deserted her. He didn't want to do it again so he did his best to find a balance between the two women in his life.

Remus and Cassie decided they would move back to England in mid July. It gave them both plenty of time to pack up and quit their jobs. Even though Cassie agreed to attend Hogwarts in the fall, they had decided not to sell their house in Florence. Both Remus and Cassie saw it as a safe haven and they both knew they would like to have the option of returning. Remus also liked the idea of actually having something to leave Cassie, if he were to ever die, as grim as that sounds.

* * *

On July 20th Remus and Cassie had said goodbye to those they were closest to. Cassie's friends had purchased her and Remus vast amounts of chocolate as their going away present, knowing their obsession for it. Erin had tried to get information out of them as to where they were going, but the only response that Remus gave was to ask her son.

On July 21st Cassie and Remus locked up their house and placed wards on it so that no unwanted people could enter it (muggle or magical). They left early, to avoid the unwanted stares of their nosy neighbors. They drove their car to the car dealership and sold it, since they wouldn't need it in England. They had packed their remaining bags and shrunk them, putting them in their pockets and the two of them plus Bumper took a portkey to Potter Manor.

When they arrived at Potter Manor James had scooped his daughter into a hug and dragged the two of them inside, Bumper bouncing happily behind them. The three of them walked to the upper floor where the bedrooms were and headed into Cassie's room first.

Her mum was in there, unpacking the first of her boxes. They had already decorated her room; the walls were gray and accented with a dark red. Others had found her color choice strange, but once they were put up, they found it actually looked rather nice. She had a double sized bed with a canopy overhead and a nice plush red carpet.

Remus helped her re-grow the boxes. She began unpacking when Lily offered to take Remus to the pool house where Natalie was so that he could unpack as well.

Remus nodded and turned to Cassie, "I'll be outside if you need me," he said with a small smile, running his hand through her hair. He noticed the small flash of jealousy that crossed his friends' eyes, but when he looked at James the jealousy was gone and he was smiling kindly.

After Remus and Lily left James began to help Cassie unpack.

"I'm really glad you're here," said James.

Cassie looked at her father who was smiling kindly at her. She smiled back "I am too," she said quietly.

James looked back down to the box that he was unpacking. He could tell Cassie wasn't being completely honest. "Cass, I know this is a really hard transition, but you'll like it here and we're all really happy you're here and I know you don't really know us, but –"

"Dad, stop," said Cassie, laughing slightly. "I'm not upset that I'm here and I know I'll get used to it, it's just weird leaving the place I've spent the last seven years."

James just smiled at her and nodded, "You'll talk to me right?" he asked and paused at her look of confusion. "If you need anything, or if anything goes wrong or if you're upset about something."

Cassie walked over to her dad and threw her arms around his waist, "I will try," she said softly.

James smiled and nodded. He knew it would take a lot for her to trust him the way that she trusts Remus, but he was willing to put in the effort and it appeared that she was as well.

* * *

The following week passed by quickly. Remus had spent most of his time with Natalie in their pool house, while Cassie spent most of her time with her siblings trying to get to know them better.

It appeared that Remus was right and Liam did get in trouble quite often. It was amusing to watch her father try to hide a smile while her mother scolded him. Emma was quite the little ball of energy. She would bounce from room to room and from game to game with an equally excited Bumper following closely behind her.

Cassie and Harry continued to grow close. Harry had opened up to her quite a bit and told her all about his friends, mainly Ron, who Cassie could vaguely remember as a baby.

It was Wednesday morning and everyone was standing by the fireplace getting ready to go to Diagon Alley. Both Harry and Cassie had gotten their letters the previous day and since Harry's birthday was in a few days, they decided a trip there was a good idea.

Both James and Lily had put on their disguises. James' hair was a dirty blonde color; he was slightly shorter than normal and a little stockier. He had deep blue eyes and a beard and moustache that were the same color as his hair. Lily had light brown hair and hazel eyes. She had higher cheekbones and was also shorter than normal.

Cassie was surprised, they really didn't look anything like they used to, so even if they were seen with Sirius and Harry, most people wouldn't be able to tell that they were James and Lily. Since Lily had hazel eyes the only thing they had to change on their two youngest children was their hair color. Now, both of them had dirty blonde hair, just like their father.

Before they flooed over Sirius turned to Cassie grimacing slightly. "You should be warned that… well…" he paused turning to James for help.

"Cass, Since the article came out, you're about just as famous as Harry is, well Harry can tell you, but when people recognize you, they'll probably want to shake your hand or have you sign something," said James.

Cassie just nodded, she wasn't a huge fan of attention, but looking at Harry she could tell that he wasn't either and if he could handle it, so could she.

They had decided to inform the wizarding world that both Remus and Cassie were alive and that they had recently returned to England from hiding. The article in the daily prophet discussed the support for the oldest Potter child and mentioned that Sirius Black had been granted custody of her and that she would be moving in with Sirius and Harry. It hadn't said much beyond that. It did mention that the actual events of that Halloween night were still foggy, since it was revealed that two of the Potter's had survived. But, because nobody gave any more information, that was all that was said.

Cassie was grateful for it; she didn't really want to have to make up a lie to tell people. Dumbledore suggested that her and Remus just don't talk about their past. They could simply say that they were in hiding and she attended a muggle school.

The four 'Hudson's' flooed over first, they had been gone for five minutes when Sirius indicated that Natalie and Remus should floo over. Nearly five minutes after the two of them had gone Sirius told Harry to go.

"We do it spaced out so that people can't tell we're leaving from the same location," said Sirius as Harry disappeared in the flames.

Cassie nodded, grabbed floo powder and stepped into the flames. "Diagon Alley!" she said and watched Sirius disappear from view. She saw fireplaces flash before her eyes and felt like the world around her was spinning. She felt her feet land hard on the ground and she fell forward only to be caught by someone very familiar. She looked up and saw the laughing face of Remus.

"I figured you might try a crash landing, so when Harry came through I decided to stand next to the fireplace, just in case," said Remus, still laughing.

She just glared at him and stood up straight, brushing off her clothes. Since Cassie and Remus didn't own wizarding robes, everyone decided to dress in muggle clothes.

When Sirius arrived, the group of people made their way into Diagon alley. Cassie's mouth dropped when the brick wall opened. She couldn't remember ever being here and the sight of it was breathtaking. Everything was so completely magical.

She heard a chuckle and turned to see Sirius looking at her amused. He threw his arm around her "it's all right, just take it all in," he said still laughing quietly.

Cassie didn't even bother to glare at him; she continued to look at everything with interest.

The group slowly made their way towards Gringotts, giving Cassie a tour on the way. The kids all pointed out the best places to buy toys or books while the adults shared some of their favorite memories. Remus even reminisced about a few times he had been there with the Marauders as kids.

When they entered Gringotts they made their way over to one of the goblin tellers. Cassie stared in awe at the goblins. She had never seen anything like them before; they were small, much like a dwarf and they had pointy ears and a pointy nose. They all looked incredibly suspicious and annoyed.

When they passed a couple of goblins had looked up. When one made eye contact with Cassie, she smiled kindly and gave a small bow. The goblin's mouth dropped and he looked at her surprised, Cassie couldn't figure out why he would have a reaction like that.

She trailed behind her family, taking everything in. whenever she would make eye contact with a goblin she would smile and bow and she always received the same reaction. Even though she found it strange, she couldn't stop, something inside her just told her what she was doing was right.

When they reached a desk with a teller, and James, Sirius, and Natalie handed the goblins their keys, the group loaded into a cart, led by a goblin named Griphook. Before Cassie got on, she bowed slightly towards Griphook, who wore the same bewildered expression as all of the other goblins. When she climbed into the cart and looked towards her parents, they both wore confused and surprised expressions.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" asked Cassie sitting between her father and Sirius, not making eye contact.

"Why did you bow?" asked Sirius

Cassie just shrugged "it felt right."

"When you made eye contact with Griphook, your eyes glowed gold. I've only ever seen them change to red before," said James, still looking at his daughter curiously.

Cassie looked at him surprised, "gold?" she asked.

James nodded, "Has that ever happened before?"

Cassie paused before nodding slightly. "I was fourteen and Jon and I found Bumper lying on the side of the road, he had been hit by a car and had broken a leg and a couple of ribs. I healed him using magic and when I finished, Jon was looking at me surprised and told me my eyes had turned gold."

James contemplated that for a moment. "Hmm…" he said, "I'll have to ask Dumbledore why that is. He might have a reason."

Cassie nodded and they all felt a lurch as the cart took off, winding down the tracks and coming to an abrupt stop right in front of the Lupin family vault. After that vault they continued to the Potter and the Black's family vaults. Cassie enjoyed the ride, she had always liked roller coasters whenever she went to the county fairs with Remus and her friends. She vaguely heard Harry asking their mum about the difference between stalagmites and stalactites, when she felt a pair of eyes on the back of her head. She turned around to see Griphook staring at her, giving her a calculating look. She scooted closer to her father and looked back towards the front, but she still felt the gaze on the back of her head.

James noticed the stiffness in his daughters' body as she scooted closer to him. He put his arm around her and looked down at her to see her staring tensely directly ahead. He rubbed her shoulder slightly to gain her attention and she looked up at him. He raised an eyebrow, giving her a questioning look and she gave him a small smile before looking back towards the front.

When everyone had filled their money bags they made their way back to the main atrium.

When they walked through the atrium they saw several goblins grouped together and pointing towards Cassie, whispering to each other. Remus went to Cassie's side and pulled her close to him, speeding up his walk towards the exit.

When they left Gringotts and made it down the steps Remus turned towards Cassie looking concerned. "What was that? Why were they all staring at you?" he asked, glancing back towards Gringotts.

Cassie just shrugged

"It might have just been because you bowed to them and because your eyes changed color," said Sirius looking at Cassie.

Remus looked at Sirius then back to Cassie, "your eyes changed color?"

Cassie nodded "gold apparently, that's what dad saw," she said pointing to her father who nodded in agreement.

"I was planning on asking Dumbledore about it the next time we see him," said James.

Remus nodded in agreement, but still remained close to Cassie. Even though he knew that their family surrounded them and the entire wizarding world knew that they were alive, Remus was still worried. They had spent so much time on the run and avoiding people noticing them that it was discomforting to have people suddenly staring.

"Sirius!" came a voice from behind them. Cassie turned to see two handsome redheaded men heading towards them waving at Sirius.

"Bill! Charlie!" said Sirius smiling, reaching out and shaking each of their hands when they reached them.

James also stepped forward and shook their hands and they hid their surprise well.

"Niall," said Bill. "We hardly recognized you," he said giving a small wink.

Cassie had been told that the entire Weasley family as well as the three Tonks' knew about James and Lily being alive. They had told them shortly after Remus' disappearance. The two families, plus Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore were the only ones who knew.

Bill and Charlie each gave Lily and Natalie a hug and shook the hands of the two young boys. Emma just waved at them shyly, from her place by James' leg. When they turned to look at the other two people their eyes widened in surprise.

Sirius stepped forward, "I know it's been quite a while since you've seen them, but this is my best friend Remus," he said indicating Remus "and my goddaughter Cassie," he said putting his arm around her and pulling her close.

"It's a pleasure to see you again," said Bill coming out of his stupor and shaking Remus' hand. "I think I was about thirteen the last time I saw you, Charlie was eleven."

Charlie reached out and shook Remus' hand while Bill shook Cassie's. When Charlie turned and looked at Cassie, she felt her stomach flutter. Charlie, well he was gorgeous. He had auburn hair and ocean blue eyes. His skin was tanned and slightly freckled. He was slightly shorter than Bill was, he looked like he might be 5'11" but he was also more defined and muscular.

She remembered the Weasleys from when she was little. She remembered Bill, he always seemed so much older. She remembered Percy, who was a year younger than her and was always asking questions. She remembered the twins who were always sneaking off and getting into trouble, and she remembered baby Ron. Of course the last time she saw Ron, he was still drooling and in diapers. Of course the person she remembered most was Charlie. She felt a flush running through her cheeks when she remembered how she used to follow him around like a lost puppy.

"I'm glad you're back and that you're okay," said Charlie shaking her hand. She could feel the calluses on his hands and wondered what it was that he did now.

"Thank you," she responded, blushing slightly. "It's nice to be back," she said honestly.

They smiled at each other, still holding hands. They broke apart when James cleared his throat. Looking at James, Cassie saw him glaring slightly at Charlie, when looking at Charlie she was pleased to see the faint blush that went across his cheeks. Lily and Natalie were giggling quietly into their hands and Bill was chuckling slightly staring at his brother. Remus looked knowingly at Cassie while Sirius was also glaring slightly at Charlie, putting his arm back around his goddaughter.

Lily stepped foreword next to her daughter "we're going to get ice cream at Florean's, would you like to come?" she asked glancing slightly at Cassie.

"Thanks for the invite Mrs. Hudson," said Bill before Charlie could respond " but we're kind of on a tight schedule. We're both here for the rest of summer, we decided to surprise our parents, so I was just heading in to Gringotts to fill out some paper work before going to the Burrow," he said apologetically.

"Oh well I'm sure your mother will be ecstatic," said Lily smiling kindly. "Harry is having a birthday party on Saturday, you should at least come to that!" she said.

Charlie nodded, "We will definitely be there for that," he said smiling brightly and glancing towards Cassie who smiled back at him.

"Well, have a good day," said James pulling Lily and Cassie away "tell your parents we said hello!"

James and the rest of the group walked away and Lily just smiled at her husband knowingly, while he complained under his breath about red heads flirting with his teenage daughter.

The rest of the day went smoothly. They got lunch and ice cream and everyone went to look at the brooms. Sirius bought a Numbus 2001 for Cassie, since she didn't have her own. They got all of their ingredients for potions and books from Flourish and Blots.

People would point and stare when they saw Cassie with Harry, but for the most part they just left them alone. There was one strange incident when Harry got his wand, something about it's brother being the wand of Voldemort, but for the most part they weren't worried about it. James just added it to his list of things to ask Dumbledore later.

Everyone was getting tired, Emma had actually fallen asleep in her fathers arms and Liam looked like he wanted to do nothing more than curl up on the ground and sleep, but Harry and Cassie still had to get their robes for school.

After much insistence from Sirius and Remus, James and Lily left begrudgingly with their two youngest children and headed back to Potter manor, while the other five headed towards Madame Malkin's.

On their way Natalie noticed a small furniture shop and dragged Remus towards there, wanting to look for more furniture for the pool house. Remus had objected slightly, wanting to stay with Cassie and Harry, but after a hurt look from his wife, he went with her.

Sirius, Harry, and Cassie walked into the clothing shop and had barely looked around when Madame Malkin said "Hogwarts?"

"Yes," said Sirius, "This is both of their first years."

She looked curiously at Cassie, but didn't ask and pulled Harry forward first and had him stand on a stool so she could take measurements.

Cassie had opted to looking around until it was her turn, while Sirius waited with Harry, who was being fitted next to another boy who looked to be a first year. She was lost in thought when she heard a voice that she had hoped to never hear again.

"Miss Potter," it said and Cassie turned sharply to look in the face of a tall man with long blonde hair pulled back into a low ponytail. "I had heard that you had come back to England, but I can honestly say I didn't think you were foolish enough to," he said looking at her arrogantly.

Cassie couldn't respond, the last time she had seen him he had cast the Cruciatus curse on her. She felt like her world was shrinking. She felt her heart beat in crease and her breaths become erratic as she began to panic.

'No' Cassie told herself. 'You can't panic, that's how they win.'

Cassie took a couple of deep breaths, but it wasn't enough. The glass of one of the windows had shattered. Lucius looked startled for a moment, but hid it with a small chuckle.

"Still can't control your powers I see," he said, smirking slightly. "You know, I'm still willing to help you with that," he said coolly.

Cassie's eyes flashed red momentarily, but returned to normal when she heard Sirius calling out for her.

She glanced back, still backing away from Lucius.

"Oh yes, do tell me how does it feel to be living with your godfather and your brother? How is young Harry?" he asked.

Cassie just glared at him, still backing away. The robe that she accidently brushed caught fire, and after a moment the whole rack lit up in flames. Lucius took a step back in surprise.

Before the fire could spread, there was a burst of water that put it out. Cassie watched as her uncle stepped in front of her and barely noticed that now Sirius, Natalie, Harry, and Draco were near them, looking at the interaction with interest.

She watched as Remus said something to Lucius, which seemed to frighten him, although Cassie felt strangely deaf, since all she could hear was a loud roaring in her ears. She watched as Lucius and Draco left the shop.

Cassie could feel her vision swimming as her eyes welled with tears. She saw Remus' blurry face looking at her concerned. She distantly heard Madame Malkin asking about what happened to the burnt robes and shattered glass and heard Sirius' reassurances that they would pay for the damage.

"Cassie, can you hear me?" she heard Remus ask.

Cassie nodded slightly, tears falling steadily. She felt herself being lifted into somebody's arms and watched as she was carried out of the store. As soon as they exited the doors, she fell into unconsciousness.


	14. Malfoy

**Disclaimer: I own noting, anything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling**

 **AN: thanks for the reviews, I really appreciate it!**

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Malfoy

Remus was looking through the furniture with Natalie, even though this was really the last thing that he wanted to be doing. The day had been good so far; he loved watching as Cassie's eyes brightened when she saw something new or when someone told her a story. He also enjoyed glaring at people who stared at her for too long. But he knew he needed to spend time with Natalie, and even though they still had plenty of furniture from their old home, this was the kind of thing that couples did.

"Remus, are you even listening to me?" came Natalie's annoyed voice.

He looked at her with a blank expression, "sorry," he said unapologetically.

"Goodness Remus, where is your mind today, you've been distracted all day," she said exasperatedly.

"I'm sorry Nat," he said putting his hand on her shoulder, "I was just thinking of Cass," he said honestly, smiling slightly.

To his surprise Natalie rolled her eyes in anger "You _always_ think about her Remus. I'm your wife, not her, you should be thinking about _me_." She said viciously.

Remus looked at her surprised and took a step back. "Of course I think about you Natalie, I think about you all the time, but today was an exciting day for Cassie, so of course I couldn't help but think about her."

She still looked angry and he added "haven't you ever been really excited when Harry, Liam, or Emma experience something new? Cassie was so happy today and I loved seeing her like that," he said quietly.

Natalie eyes softened slightly, "I'm sorry, I just feel like you spend so much time with her, but I'm your wife. You've spent the last ten years with her, so shouldn't you spend more time with me?"

Remus sighed and pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry you feel like that, but you have to remember that she's like a daughter to me. I love her and I _want_ to be there for her in any way that she needs me."

Natalie pulled away and nodded slightly, "Well I suppose I don't like anything here enough, so why don't we just go meet up with our dear niece and nephew?" she asked smiling.

Remus smiled back and grabbed her hand, the two of them making their way out of the store and towards Madame Malkin's. When they were near the clothing shop they heard glass breaking and they both rushed into the store.

Remus walked over to where Sirius was standing with Harry, who looked like he just had his robes fitted. "Cassie?" he heard him call looking towards the other end of the store.

"Where is she?" asked Remus, slightly worried when he reached Sirius.

"She was looking around," said Sirius, still looking towards the end of the store.

"Ouch! Watch where you put that pin," Remus heard a young boy say. He looked towards the boy and saw the blonde hair and pointed face of a Malfoy. He felt his heart rate speed up and he began walking quickly in the direction that Sirius was looking.

When he reached the other end of the store he saw Lucius talking to Cassie, with broken glass surrounding them. Cassie was bleeding on her arms and legs, but she seemed to take no notice of it.

"How is young Harry?" he heard Lucius ask.

He watched as Cassie stepped back and her arm rubbed against some cloaks hanging next to her. Instantly they burst into flame, Cassie barely seemed to notice the fire, but Lucius backed away, surprised.

Remus jumped forward and put out the fire with his wand and then jumped in front of Cassie, standing only a few inches from Lucius. His eyes turned from amber to gold, showing that the werewolf was very close to surface. "If you _ever_ talk to her or her brother again, I swear I will rip your arms from your body," Remus growled.

Lucius looked slightly startled and took a step back. "Let's go Draco," he said reaching an arm out to his son. "We don't want to be anywhere where they allow filthy half-breeds," he snarled looking at Remus.

The two of them turned and left the shop through the front door.

Remus turned back to Cassie and noticed that Sirius, Harry, and Natalie were looking between him and Cassie with surprise and concern. Harry took as step towards Cassie, but Remus shook his head and held him back.

He bent down so he was looking her in the eyes, "Cassie, are you okay?" asked Remus in a gentle, but concerned voice.

She didn't respond, she just continued to look blankly at Remus' face.

"Cassie can you hear me?" he asked. He noticed a very small nod, but when he saw her begin to shake and saw the tears fall from her eyes he scooped her into his arms.

Sirius finished promising Madame Malkin that they would pay for the damage and turned towards Remus.

"I'm taking her home," Remus told Sirius who just nodded and stared at his unresponsive goddaughter in his best friends arms.

Remus took Cassie out of the shop and apparated her back to Potter manor.

* * *

After James and Lily had tucked in their two youngest children, they sat down tiredly on the couch. James laid his head in Lily's lap and she stroked his hair. They sat in silence for a while, each of them lost in thought.

James sighed and turned on his back so he was looking up at his wife. He smiled slightly "It's nice having our family whole again, having both Remus and Cassie back."

Lily smiled down at him and nodded, "I never thought I'd see her again, but she's here." Lily's smile turned into a frown.

"What's wrong Lils?" asked James. "You've been awfully quiet for the last week."

Lily looked into her husbands hazel eyes "do you ever think she'll trust us?" she asked quietly. "Do you think she'll look at us the same way she looks at Remus?"

James sat up and pulled his wife into a hug. "I know she will, it'll just take time," he said.

Lily still looked disbelieving. "What if she doesn't though?" she asked sadly. "She'll be seventeen in less than a year and in a couple years she won't need us at all. What if she just keeps relying on Remus and continues to treat us like she just met us?"

James sighed, "I don't know Lils. I don't think she's going to stop needing us though. Even if she doesn't need us the same way Harry, Liam, and Emma do, she's still our daughter and we'll always be in her life. She'll get used to us, you'll see."

Lily just didn't respond to James, but he could feel her tense up.

"What are you thinking darling?" asked James patiently.

Lily shook her head slightly, "It's not good," she said softly.

"What isn't?"

"It's just… well… I feel awful for thinking this and I'm so grateful for everything, it's just sometimes I wish Remus hadn't been there, that he hadn't spent the last ten years with her. Then she might actually need us."

James stayed quiet for a few moments thinking.

"I can understand that," he said softly. "But, if he hadn't been there we don't know what would have happened to Cassie. She may have never escaped, she might have died in that explosion, she may have landed on the streets and we would have never seen her again, or…" he paused. "Or she may have turned out to be Voldemort's most faithful servant."

Lily didn't say anything, but James could feel the front of his shirt get wet, and he could tell she had started crying.

"We really don't know what would have happened to her, mainly because we don't know what she went through or how they escaped from Lestrange manor, but I do know that I'm eternally grateful to Remus for keeping our little girl safe and sane." He finished, stroking Lily's hair.

They sat in a comfortable silence for nearly ten minutes before Lily pulled away and kissed her husband deeply.

"You're right," she whispered, resting her forehead on James' "I am grateful that he was there and that he kept her safe."

They both smiled softly and kissed again. Just as the kiss started to get heated James heard the door bang open. The two of them jumped apart and whipped out their wands walking towards the entryway.

When they saw who had walked through the front door they both felt their stomach's drop. Remus was standing there looking disheveled holding a limp and bleeding Cassie in his arms.

"Lily, go get bruise and scratch salve and some calming draught," said Remus while heading towards the stairs.

Lily wore a worried expression but didn't say anything as she rushed off to get what Remus wanted.

James followed him and his daughter up the stairs towards her room.

"Moony what happened?" Asked James as Remus laid Cassie on the bed.

"Malfoy," growled Remus, not looking up at James.

Before James could respond Lily came back into the room carrying salves and bandages. She rushed to Remus' side. Without a word the two of them cleaned up all of her cuts and bruises. She wasn't very I juried, everything was superficial.

The three of them conjured seats for themselves, James and Lily sitting on one side and Remus sitting on the other.

James and Lily shared a glance, "Remus what happened?" Asked Lily.

Before Remus could respond they heard a shout from downstairs

"Moony?" Came Sirius' voice.

"Up here!" Shouted Remus

The three of them heard a few sets of footsteps running up the stairs and moments later they saw Sirius bound into the room followed by Harry, with Natalie bringing up the rear.

James conjured three more chairs and the six of then sat around a sleeping Cassie.

"Okay what happened?" Asked James impatiently.

Remus turned to Sirius motioning for him to start. Sirius relayed the story of everything that he'd seen.

Remus sighed and ran his hands through his hair. He finally looked up from Cassie and looked at his friends.

"Cassie got all of the cuts from the glass. I'm assuming when she saw Lucius she lost control and shattered the window. Cassie is also the one who lit the robes on fire. When she's emotional, she can't control it and she has the potential to destroy anything in her path."

"But why?" Asked Lily, looking at her daughter with tears in her eyes. "Why was she so emotional around Lucius?"

Remus shook his head slightly, "I can't tell you everything," he said regretfully. "Cassie needs to tell you what happened. But I will tell you that he was there, at the manor."

"Remus," growled James. "What did that bastard do to her?"

Remus just shook his head again, "James it's up to Cassie to tell you."

James threw up his arms in frustration. "She's my daughter Remus! I have the right to know what happened to her! It's been a month and she hasn't said anything..." He said desperately.

"You have to give her time James." Said Remus. "She doesn't trust easily and the only person she's ever told about the incidents in the manor is me. And the only reason she's talked to me is because I was there and I was dealing with my own form of torture."

James looked like he wanted to argue, but Lily touched his arm and he stayed quiet.

After a few minutes, Natalie stood up saying that she was going to take her stuff to the pool house. She asked Remus to come with her, but he shook his head and continued staring sadly at his niece. After a while Liam and Emma woke up, so Sirius and Harry went to entertain them.

The other three just continued to sit in silence, James would glance uneasily at Remus every once in a while.

After nearly thirty minutes, Cassie started murmuring in her sleep and thrashing around.

Remus immediately jumped into action and began rubbing his hands through her hair and whispering words of comfort, trying to get her to wake up.

After a couple of minutes, Cassie sat up quickly, gasping for breath.

"Shhh it's okay Cass, you're home and you're safe," said Remus, pulling her into a hug.

Cassie sobbed into his shirt, while he rocked her softly. Lily sat on the bed and ran soothing circles her back, while James held one of her hands in his.

"It wasn't a dream," said Cassie in a voice muffled by her uncles' chest. "It was a memory," she said softly.

Remus grabbed her tightly and rocked her until she fell back asleep.

* * *

When Cassie woke next, it was to find that it was dawn. The sun was just beginning to rise, which told her that it must be five in the morning. She looked around her room and found that she wasn't the only one there. Her father was sound asleep in a reclining chair beside her bed. Not wanting to wake him, she quietly got out of bed and gathered yoga pants and a tank top and headed out of her room and towards the bathroom.

She changed quickly and headed outside. A short ways passed their back yard was a small forested area with walking trails. Her dad told her it was safe and that muggles would often walk through there, since there was a small muggle town just on the other side.

After thirty minutes of running she started heading back towards her house. She had been thinking non-stop about the events of the previous day and she was mad. She was frustrated with herself for losing control. It had been a very long time since she had lost control of her magic to that extent. It made her feel weak, if Malfoy could bring out that kind of reaction with only a few words, what would happen if he actually attacked?

Yes, she was very frustrated with herself. She had been training for this for seven years. Ever since she escaped, Remus had been teaching her control. She knew more spells and had more control than any other sixteen year old. Heck, she was one of the most powerful witches alive, but what did that matter if she was just going to fall apart whenever she came across someone from her years in captivity.

She made her way back into her house and headed into the basement. James had strengthened and transformed it so that Remus could use it for his transformations. Cassie knew she wasn't allowed to use her wand outside of school now that she was back in England, but she could use wandless magic, since its something that the ministry can't track.

She transformed an empty box into a dummy; she backed away and began firing hexes at it. She started off small, but after a few minutes she found that she needed to blow off more steam, so she began firing off more advanced spells. She continued to fire off spells at rapid speed until she was covered in sweat. Using both her hands she shot off one last curse, which was a pure black color. It connected with the dummy and caused it to melt into a puddle of black goo.

"Cassie."

She spun around, startled and came face to face with her surprised father. He was gaping pointing towards the puddle of black goo.

She grimaced slightly. She had used a curse that was well known for being dark.

"W-where did you learn that?" asked James.

Cassie shrugged and looked away

James sighed and pulled his daughter into a hug "I need you to talk to me Cass, it was terrifying seeing you come home cut up and unconscious yesterday," he said softly.

Cassie stayed quiet for a few moments before pulling away from the hug. "What do you want to know?" she asked hesitantly.

James smiled and pulled Cassie out of the basement and up to the kitchen. It was still early so nobody was up yet. He made two cups of hot coffee and sat by Cassie.

"I know that this is hard to talk about, but it'll be good to confide in more people than just moony," said James.

Cassie just nodded slightly in response, but didn't make eye contact.

"Why did Malfoy scare you so badly yesterday?"

Cassie scoffed slightly, "it shouldn't have been that frightening," she said shaking her head and gripping the coffee tightly. "When I first saw him I panicked because I hadn't seen him in so long, then the glass broke and he started taunting me."

"Cassie, what did he do to you, when you were younger?" asked James.

Cassie looked up quickly, shaking her head. She stopped when she saw the softness and pleading look in her fathers' eyes. She sighed and looked back down.

"Their goal was to use me as a weapon, to create something indestructible. Something that would do the Dark Lord's bidding whenever he returned. Something to cause enough fear and panic that people would bow in submission at the mere mention of them.

"Everyone had their job when it came to me," Cassie said shakily. "Lucius was supposed to teach me proper etiquette. His job was to show me what it meant to be a pure blood. It was so stupid, he'd show me the proper way to eat and walk. He'd show me my responsibilities."

She paused letting a few tears fall while James just rubbed her back soothingly.

"It sounds so stupid when I say it now," she said laughing slightly. "He wasn't even the worst, I didn't actually dread my time with him the same way I dreaded it with others. The worst thing when it came to him were the punishments when I did something wrong."

Cassie felt James' hand freeze. "What did he do Cass," he said in a deadly whisper.

Cassie looked up at James and saw the anger swirling in his eyes. She smiled slightly, "There was the occasional slap, but the torture curse was his favorite," she said bitterly.

James jumped to his feet "I'll kill him!" he shouted, causing Cassie to flinch. "He tortured a six year old girl!"

"Dad," said Cassie pleadingly. "There's nothing you can do! It was seven years ago. If you told anyone and the ministry got involved they would know what happened and I'm not ready for people to know," she said desperately.

James calmed down slightly when Cassie touched his arm and he sat back down.

"Okay, Okay… I won't tell anyone."

Cassie smiled slightly, but her face dropped when her father asked his next question.

"So was it Malfoy who taught you the dark curses?"

Cassie shook her head and looked back down at her coffee.

"Who was it then?" he prodded.

"Bellatrix," Cassie said in a cold voice, one that sent shivers up James' spine.

James paused, "was, was she worse than Malfoy?" he asked quietly.

Cassie laughed a slightly hysterical laugh; she looked at her dad "she was the worst." Cassie stood up and took her coffee cup into the kitchen.

James knew that the discussion was over. He was desperate to know what Bellatrix had done to her, but he figured that this would be a topic that would be harder to get her to open up about.

James was brought out of his thinking when his wife entered the room.

"Morning love," she said and she kissed him on the lips. "You seem to be deep in thought this morning."

James smiled and shook his head as Cassie came back from the kitchen.

"Cassie," said Lily softly. "You look better, but what are you doing up so early?" she asked pulling her into a tight hug.

Cassie rested her chin on her mothers' shoulder. "I couldn't sleep so I decided to go for a run," she said glancing at her dad; she didn't want to mention the dark magic.

James smiled and shook his head slightly.

Lily smiled when she pulled away from the hug. "Well why don't you run upstairs and shower, I'll have breakfast ready in a little while."

Cassie nodded and headed towards the door. She paused and looked back towards her parents. "Dad," she said smiling "You were right, it is nice to confide in someone other than Moony," she said and she left the kitchen, heading up towards the showers.


	15. Hogwarts

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, everything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling**

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Hogwarts

The rest of summer went by quickly for the residents at Potter Manor. A couple of days after the incident in Diagon Alley they held a birthday party for Harry, where all of their friends were invited. The entire Weasley and Tonks families had shown up.

Cassie rather enjoyed the party; it was nice to be able to see people she hadn't seen since she was six, although the only people she still recognized were the parents. Everyone had been drilling Remus and Cassie about their life in America, thankfully nobody really questioned why they disappeared in the first place, it seemed they understood that something bad happened and that they didn't want to discuss it.

Charlie and Cassie had also spent a lot of time together at the party, getting to know each other. Cassie had been surprised at how easy it was to talk to him. For the first month of talking with her parents, things had been fairly awkward, but now that she thought about it, she realized that it could have been because there were expectations with her and her parents and there weren't any with Charlie.

Cassie found herself developing a crush on the second oldest Weasley child. He was very attractive, but also kind and funny. Cassie liked how he was very confident, but not arrogant like so many other guys she knew. She learned that he had a job working with dragons, which would explain all of the calluses she had felt on his hands. She had also learned that he had taken a year off of working with the dragons to teach Care of Magical Creatures. She had felt her heart drop slightly at that information, there was no way she was going to be the girl with a crush on her professor.

One person who hadn't been entirely happy about the new found friendship between Charlie and Cassie was James.

"He's twenty-one Moony!"

Remus sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. That was the fifth time James had said that at the party.

"Five years really isn't that much," said Remus.

"She's sixteen!" said James throwing his hands up.

"This is the first time they've spent any time together, they're not even dating," said Remus in exasperation.

Of course, as the month before school went on, Cassie and Charlie began to spend even more time together as friends. Charlie, Bill, and Ron would come over quite often, claiming that Ron wanted to spend time with Harry. Charlie and Cassie would just continue to get to know each other in the presence of their siblings.

James and Remus had a few more arguments in relation to the whole Cassie-Charlie issue. James was dead set against Charlie even being friends with his daughter while Remus understood that age wasn't that big of a deal and in a few years, a five year difference wouldn't seem like that much. Lily had taken Remus' side, reminding James that Charlie was a good man and if Cassie were going to date someone, she'd like it to be a Weasley. James, however, still wasn't happy about it.

Cassie had also been spending an increasing amount of time with Harry. The two of them had become very close in the weeks that preceded school and they were both grateful that the other would be attending Hogwarts.

Tensions had been high among the adults at Potter Manor. Lily had been getting frustrated since Cassie still seemed to be closed off towards her parents. She was frustrated with both James and Remus for not telling her what had happened to Cassie at Lestrange Manor, of course James didn't know the whole story, all he told her was that Malfoy tortured her. Natalie had taken Lily's side, saying that it might be best if her and Remus moved somewhere else so Cassie could start to rely on her parents.

This had led to an argument between Natalie and Remus. It was obvious that Natalie wasn't very happy with Cassie, which Cassie noticed and been hurt by. Remus was frustrated with Natalie for treating someone who she had always considered a niece like that, especially since she was so important to Remus. It also seemed that Natalie desperately wanted to start a family, which Remus could understand. They had planned on starting a family before he disappeared, so she had wanted this for ten years. But Remus wasn't ready for any children. It was hard enough for him to divide his time up between Natalie and Cassie, he didn't want to throw another kid in the mix, at least not until Cassie was a little older and more comfortable.

Sirius did his best to stay out of it, but he couldn't help siding more with James and Remus, and that's not just because they were his best friends. It was obvious that Cassie was still struggling and would need both of her father figures present in her life. He also felt that both of the women were angry out of jealousy.

* * *

It was the night before September first and Cassie was helping Harry pack for Hogwarts. Cassie had done her packing earlier, so she decided to help Harry with his, although she was really sitting on his bed and watching him pack.

"What house do you want to be in?" asked Cassie.

Harry looked up from his packing wearing a confused expression "well Gryffindor of course."

"Why do you say 'of course'?"

"Well mum and dad were in Gryffindor and that's where the brave people go," he said looking back at his packing.

"Well yeah that's where mum and dad were and I know Gryffindor is known for housing brave people, but that doesn't mean that all brave people land in Gryffindor."

"Yeah I suppose you're right, I just don't want to land in Slytherin."

Cassie grimaced slightly, "yeah I don't want you to land in Slytherin either."

* * *

The next day came bright and early. Thankfully the day wasn't very busy with packing since Cassie, Harry, and James had packed the day before. So, everyone was sitting around the table having a quiet breakfast.

James lived at Hogwarts like the other professors, but he would go home on weekends to see his family. Normally when a professor has a family they're all allowed to live at Hogwarts, but since no one in the wizarding world knew that Harry was their child, they had decided that Lily would stay home with the kids and James would come home on weekends.

After breakfast Sirius, Remus, Cassie and Harry loaded into James's car, after a lengthy goodbye to Lily and their siblings. James was Apparating to the school in a few hours and it would be suspicious if the others went to drop off the two kids at the station. Cassie was seated in the back next to Remus and she couldn't help but feel nervous. She was nervous about switching schools and making new friends. She was worried about which house she'd end up in. What if she didn't land in Gryffindor, would her parents be upset?

As if reading her thoughts, Remus put his arm around her. "It's going to be okay," he said whispering so only she could hear it. "You'll make friends and it'll be a good experience."

Cassie didn't say anything, but leaned into his side gratefully.

When they arrived at Kings Cross Station and approached the barrier between platforms nine and ten, Cassie's mouth dropped open in surprise.

"You want us to run through the wall?" she asked

Sirius just smirked, "Come on Cass, it's just a harmless wall."

Cassie looked at Harry, but he was smirking just like Sirius.

"That's really how you get on Cassie," said Remus. "We'll make Sirius go first."

After the four of them got onto the platform they stood together near the platform looking around to see anyone they recognized. After a little while of looking they saw the Weasleys who were making their way towards them. The only ones who weren't present were Arthur and Bill.

When the Weasley's reached them Cassie saw Molly scolding the twins about something, Ginny holding tightly to her hand. Percy had run off already and Ron was standing near Harry looking sick from nerves.

Charlie came to her quickly with bright eyes and pulled her into a tight hug. She was surprised, but returned the hug gladly. She was kind of surprised that he came, since he was working at Hogwarts and would be Apparating there in a couple of hours.

"I wanted to come see you off," he said.

She smiled brightly at him "I'm glad you did, but I'll see you tonight at the feast."

"I know," he said and he looked down as if embarrassed. "Anyways, are you nervous?" he asked changing the topic.

Cassie grimaced "sort of."

"It's okay, everyone gets nervous during their first year," he said running a hand through her hair.

Cassie felt shivers go down her spine and couldn't stop the blush that spread across her cheeks at the touch.

They heard the whistle signaling that the train was going to leave and Cassie gave one last hug to Charlie before turning to Remus and Sirius.

"Give 'em hell," said Sirius kissing her on the forehead.

Remus held her tightly when she turned to him. "I'll miss you a lot, be good, don't cause too much trouble," he said still holding her close.

Cassie didn't say anything right away she just held onto him. This was going to be the longest that they were separated since before they were trapped in Lestrange Manor. Cassie couldn't stop the tears that came to her eyes.

"I'll miss you too," she said quietly.

The whistle sounded again and Remus reluctantly pulled back, wiping the tears from her eyes. Her and Harry dragged their trunks onto the platform after and looked out the window as the train started moving. They waved goodbye to all the adults and stared at them until they disappeared from view.

The Weasley twins and Percy had already disappeared so Cassie walked down the train with Harry and Ron looking for an empty compartment. When they found one, Cassie helped the two boys load their trunks into the overhead racks and the three of them sat comfortably, Ron and Harry started talking animatedly about what the school year would be like.

Time went quickly on the train and after a while the door slid open to reveal a small cute girl with bushy brown hair. She was slightly out of breath and seemed to be close to tears.

"Is everything alright?" asked Cassie once the girl closed compartment door.

She looked around nervously "S-sorry," she stuttered glancing back at the door. "I was talking to some people in another compartment and then one of them shot a hex at me, but it missed so I ran."

"Well you can stay in here," said Harry. "We won't hurt you."

"Yeah," said Ron with a mouth full of food "and Cassie can protect you if they come back," he said pointing towards Cassie.

She smiled gratefully and took a seat next to Cassie.

"I'm Cassie by the way," she said holding out her hand to the small girl.

"Hermione," she said with a small smile.

Before they could say anymore the door opened again to reveal a blonde boy standing in front of two larger boys who looked as though they might be part troll.

"There's the little know it all," said the blonde kid smirking at Hermione. "You didn't really think you could run did you?" he pulled out his wand, but Harry stood in front of it.

"Leave her alone and get out," he said, much to Cassie's surprise. Harry was always quiet when it came to new people.

Malfoy glanced at Harry and then glanced at everyone else in the compartment, his eyes lingered on Cassie for a moment longer.

"Potter, you don't want to be standing up for people like her, she's an annoying little know it all, you deserve better friends," he said looking towards Hermione with disgust.

"Like you?" said Harry coldly.

Malfoy glared at Harry "I'd be better than some little mudblood."

"Get out," growled Harry.

Draco pointed his wand at Harry, but before he could say anything Harry was forced into his seat and Cassie's wand was pointed at Draco, while she was still sitting.

"You're not welcome in here Draco," she said calmly. "Leave, now."

He looked at her wand and sneered, but the three of them backed out of the compartment and left.

"T-thanks," said Hermione, blushing slightly. She looked to Cassie "What's a mudblood? That was the second time he called me one and I've never read about it."

Cassie frowned slightly and sighed. "It's a bad name for someone to call person who is muggle born, it means dirty blood. But don't listen to him, it's only the pure blood elitists who believe that blood purity matters."

Hermione nodded but looked down sadly.

Harry moved off his seat and sat by Hermione "I'm Harry by the way, Harry Potter."

Hermione's eyes widened when he said his last name, but she took his hand enthusiastically. "I've read all about you! You defeated He-who-must-not-be-named!"

Harry shook his head, "No, I was just a baby. It was because someone close to me died for me which protected me and caused Voldemort to get hit."

She gasped at the name, but looked interested in what he was saying. Harry wanted to say that it was his sister who "died" for him, but that would cause too many questions and as far as the wizarding world was concerned, Cassie was never hit with the killing curse.

"It was your mum who died for you right?" Asked Hermione.

Harry stuttered and looked uncomfortable.

"His parents are dead and he doesn't like to talk about it," said Ron rather rudely.

Harry looked at him gratefully, but Hermione glared at him slightly.

"And who are you?" she asked.

"Ron, Ron Weasley."

Hermione didn't say anything but nodded in his direction. She turned back to Cassie "How do you know these two?" she asked jerking her head in their direction.

"I'm Harry's older sister," she said smiling "Cassandra Potter."

Hermione's eyes widened again but she looked confused. "But the books that I've read said that you died with your parents."

Cassie was surprised at the bluntness of this girl. It was obvious why Malfoy had been annoyed; in reality she was probably just incredibly excited at the prospect of the wizarding world. She had never even known of its existence so everything was probably fascinating to her.

"The books were wrong, until a couple months ago they believed I was dead but…" she paused "I was just elsewhere."

"Where were you? What happened?" she asked excitedly.

"I'm afraid that's a little personal," said Cassie kindly.

Hermione nodded and smiled, looking slightly abashed at the personal questions, but also disappointed that they weren't answered.

The rest of the train ride went quickly and smoothly. After Malfoy's little visit, their compartment had gotten even more visitors, all wanting to be introduced to the boy-who-lived. Funnily enough Draco didn't mention Cassie being there since no body seemed interested in meeting her, other than the few older students who didn't recognize her. Several people had asked Harry about what it was like to have his sister back, but didn't seem to make the connection that the sister was in the compartment as well.

Cassie was grateful that the attention wasn't on her, even though she felt bad for her younger brother. She did laugh slightly at how uncomfortable Harry seemed with it, but she knew it would be even worse tonight when their names are announced at the sorting.

When they arrived in Hogsmeade, Cassie helped the three younger students with their trunks and all four of them made their way off the Hogwarts Express. Cassie noticed a half-giant calling for all first years, while all the other students seemed to be loading themselves onto Carriages. Cassie ushered Harry, Ron, and Hermione toward Hagrid and she took off towards one of the carriages.

Cassie paused at the carriage; a winged, skeleton-like horse was driving it. It was creepy looking, but she figured it probably wasn't dangerous since it was allowed around all the students.

She was brought out of her thinking by someone tapping her on the shoulder "are you going to get on?" she asked pointing towards the carriage.

Cassie nodded and smiled gratefully at the girl. She looked around the same age as her. She had long brown curly hair and dark brown eyes. She followed her into the carriage which was already occupied by two others.

"I haven't seen you here before. Are you new?" asked the brown-haired girl.

Cassie nodded and smiled.

"Well, I'm Brianna Wirth," she said. "These are my friends Julie Arias," she pointed towards a girl with light brown hair and ocean blue eyes. She had fairly bad acne, but was still very gorgeous, "and Steven Battaglia," she said pointing to rather built man, she thinks man because he doesn't really look like a kid at all. he had dark brown hair and dark green eyes.

"I'm Cassandra Potter," she said softly "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Cassie found it rather comical how all of their eyes widened in surprise at her name. The three of them smiled brightly at her, but didn't ask any questions, which Cassie was grateful for.

"So what houses are you in?" asked Cassie.

"Steven and I are in Ravenclaw and Bri is in Slytherin," said Julie.

Cassie was surprised; Bri didn't seem mean at all, although now that she thought of it she supposed that not all Slytherines were bad, just like not all Gryffindor's were good.

"I suppose you'll be in Gryffindor?" sighed Brianna. "Are you getting sorted tonight?"

Cassie nodded her head, "I'm really not sure where I'll be."

They fell into a comfortable silence and before long the carriage arrived at the school. When they stepped out Cassie looked up and smiled brightly. Even though she was nervous about switching schools and meeting new people, she couldn't deny that she was excited to be here.

"Have you been here before?" asked Bri walking into the castle with Cassie.

Cassie nodded, "I came here with my uncle shortly before moving back to England."

"Well, you'll love it. If you want I can give you a tour sometime tomorrow."

"That would be great!" said Cassie smiling gratefully. "I had a tour, but it was rather short and I don't think they showed me everything."

Bri just smiled. Before they walked into the great hall Cassie was intercepted by a strict looking professor, whose hair was tied back into a tight bun.

"Miss Potter," she said giving her a small smile. "I need to have a word with you, so why don't you run along miss Wirth." She said looking towards Bri.

Cassie waved to Bri as she walked away.

"I realize that you might not remember me, but I'm Professor McGonagall and I teach transfiguration here at Hogwarts."

Cassie nodded, "I thought I recognized you, you were at my grandparents funeral."

McGonagall looked surprised, "I didn't think you'd remember that, but yes that was the last time I saw you. Anyways, I'll have you enter after the first years and wait off to the side and we'll have you sorted after them."

Cassie nodded in agreement.

"Very good, well the first years will be here shortly, so just wait here, this is where I'll greet them."

Cassie nodded again and McGonagall left. She looked around and watched all of the students filing into the great hall. She wasn't left alone for long, after a couple of minutes she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Niall Hudson.

"Dad," she whispered and smiled brightly.

"Cassandra," he said as he held out his hand for her to shake.

Cassie felt extremely odd shaking her fathers hand, but she understood that it would be strange for them to hug.

"How was the train ride?" he asked.

Cassie shrugged, "It was fun, Harry and Ron talked about Quidditch and Hogwarts houses the entire time."

James smiled "You could have visited other compartments."

"I'm not complaining, and it would have been weird for me to visit other ones, I know absolutely no one." Cassie looked towards the main doors when they opened and she saw a whole bunch of small first years with open mouths walk into the entryway.

"Well that's my cue to leave," said James, reaching towards Cassie as if to pull her into a hug. He seemed to think better of it and settled with squeezing her shoulder. "I'll see you in there, good luck with the sorting."

Cassie smiled and watched her dad leave and head into the Great Hall.

She heard McGonagall call for the entire group of first years to form a line and follow her. She jumped in at the end of the line, keeping her distance and followed them into the hall. It truly was as amazing as she had heard. This was one of the places they didn't get to visit the last time she was here. The ceilings reflected the night sky and candles seemed to be floating in mid-air. There were the four house tables in rows on the sides of her; each table had a banner with their coat of arms above it.

The head table was at the very front and she looked to see several people who she recognized. Of course in the middle was Professor Dumbledore, who was smiling at the entering students, to his left was an empty seat, and Cassie assumed that it was for McGonagall. Next to the empty seat was her father and a couple seats from him was Charlie Weasley. Cassie made eye contact with Charlie and he waved slightly from his seat at the front.

"Who is she?" "Where'd she come from?" "Is she a transfer?"

Cassie heard all of the questions and noticed the stares as she walked down the hall. It was obvious that she was older than the first years, and Cassie assumed that there must not be very many transfer students since they were so interested.

She stopped when she got to the front and watched as McGonagall placed a hat on the stool. The hat sang a song about the houses and uniting them, and then McGonagall pulled out a piece of parchment and began reading names.

Cassie recognized the names of Crabbe and Goyle and she realized that those were the two guys who followed Draco into their compartment… Figures. She watched as Hermione got sorted into Gryffindor and then before she knew it, it was her brothers' turn.

"Potter, Harry!" called McGonagall.

Cassie heard whispers break out around the room. "Did she say Potter?" "As in The-Boy-who-lived?"

Cassie watched as Harry walked nervously up to the seat and put the hat on his head. It fell over his eyes and she saw Harry grow tense. It seemed to take a little while deciding, but before long it shouted "Gryffindor!"

The hat finished sorting the first years, Ron was placed into Gryffindor and Malfoy was placed in Slytherine. For the most part she wasn't surprised about anyone, although she was curious what other houses the hat had considered for her brother.

"Potter, Cassandra," Said McGonagall.

Cassie felt the knots tighten in her stomach and the world around her go silent. She walked up and sat on the stool and McGonagall placed the hat on her head. The last thing she saw before the hat covered her eyes were various people in the crowd whispering to each other and standing up to get a better look.

"Ah," said the hat "another Potter. Already mature in your magic, plenty of courage, very cunning.

"You're a rather difficult person to place."

'How am I difficult?' thought Cassie.

"Well you have qualities to go into any house, much like your brother. Two stand out most to me. There's something else here, in your head that I can't quite place.

"Oh well, I suppose I've decided…"

"Slytherin!" Cassie heard this one shouted across the hall and she felt her stomach drop. How could she be in Slytherine? There were family members of her biggest enemies in that house, how would she survive?

When McGonagall pulled off the house Cassie saw many shocked faces throughout the room. She made eye contact with Harry who just smiled at her and gave her a thumb up. She made her way over to the Slytherin table, who were cheering loudly at this point and she sat down next to Bri who patted her on the back. When she looked towards the staff table she found Dumbledore smiling and clapping politely, Charlie looked surprised but he was clapping encouragingly, but it was her father who she wanted reassurance from. James had his eyes set on the table and was barely clapping at all; Cassie felt her stomach drop at his disappointment.

The food was served, but Cassie felt that she could barely eat anything. She kept glancing towards her father at the staff table, but he never seemed to be looking at her. Charlie seemed to notice where her gaze was going, so when she made eye contact with him he shrugged and mouthed 'it's okay.'

"Come on Cassie Slytherine isn't that bad," said a voice coming from her right. Cassie looked over and saw Bri looking at her with concern.

Cassie just shook her head "I know it's not, I'm just worried how my godfather will react," she said grimacing slightly.

"Oh yes, the white sheep of the Blacks," said Bri smirking slightly. "Slytherines for generations, then he comes along and lands in Gryffindor."

Cassie just nodded, but returned to staring at her food.

"Come on, he won't be too mad."

"No, I suppose not, I just don't know him very well and I already hate disappointing him," said Cassie. Of course this wasn't entirely true in regards to Sirius. She assumed that Sirius would handle the situation well, she was saying this more about her father, but it wasn't like she could say that.

The end of the feast came quickly and Dumbledore stood up to make his announcements.

"Welcome, welcome." Said Dumbledore smiling towards everyone, "to new students, welcome to Hogwarts, to returning students, welcome back. We have a few new appointments to discuss, first is our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor is Professor Quirell," said Dumbledore indicating a man in a purple turban. The man stood and bowed slightly before sitting back down.

"Our last new Professor will be taking the position of Care of Magical Creatures, since Professor Kettleburn has decided to retire. Professor Weasley," he said indicating Charlie.

Cassie clapped loudly when Charlie stood and bowed. He made eye contact with her and winked slightly, which made Cassie blush.

"Do you know him?" asked Bri curiously.

"Um, yeah we met over the summer," said Cassie not offering very much information.

Bri just shrugged as the hall quieted down. Dumbledore finished his speech about rules and Quidditch tryouts and then he sent everyone to bed.

"Potter," said a harsh voice coming from behind her. She turned to see a tall man with greasy hair and a pointed nose.

"Yes sir?" she asked politely, his eyes flashed with something unrecognizable, but then they changed to the usual dark color.

"You'll be in the sixth year dorms, I trust Wirth can show you where to go," he said.

Bri nodded and pulled Cassie towards the main doors.

"Who was that?" asked Cassie. "He looked like an overgrown bat."

Bri snorted, "that was Professor Snape, he's our head of house."

Cassie just nodded; she had heard a lot of stories about him by Remus and Sirius mostly. One of the stories Remus had told her was the one where he cursed her mum, causing her to go into early labor. Needless to say she already wasn't a fan of the man.

They made their way to the Slytherin common rooms. They reached the dungeons and a student ahead of them shouted the password "pureblood" towards a stretch of blank stone wall, which opened up to reveal the common room.

Cassie filed in behind the others and was rather taken aback by the common room. It wasn't as uncomfortable as she had pictured. It was definitely dark in there and rather cold, despite the fire for warmth. The lights were green, which she assumed was because of the lake, which they were under. Everything else was rather comfortable; there were plush green and silver armchairs and couches, the floor was carpeted to help with the coldness.

Bri led Cassie up to the sixth year dormitory and she found her four-poster bed with her trunk in front of it. She noticed three other beds in the room, but it seemed that none of the others were back yet.

"I'm going to get some sleep, it's been a long day," said Cassie, opening her trunk and pulling out her pajamas.

Bri just smiled at her "goodnight," she said quietly as she too went to her trunk and pulled out her nightclothes.

Cassie dressed quickly and crawled into the bed, pulling the curtains around it closed. She threw up a silencing charm and pulled her knees up to her chest and began to cry.

She didn't want to be in Slytherin. Even though Bri seemed nice, she knew there would be plenty of people who weren't. How did she land in this house any ways? Sure there were other qualities to Slytherines than just being evil, but that was the one that stood out the most. Cassie wasn't evil, was she?

Cassie felt fear as she cried into her knees. What if she landed in here because she was evil? Because she did have darkness in her?

She could still hear Bellatrix's voice echoing in her head ' _You were meant for this Keira, you were meant to destroy.'_

She was scared of her family's reactions as well. Her father hadn't even made eye contact with her since she was sorted. He didn't know her very well and he's seen her do dark magic, so would he think she was evil and give up on her? Would her mum take his side?

She knew Remus wouldn't care, but if her aunt Natalie took James and Lily's side, would he listen to her instead?

With these thoughts spinning through her mind, she fell into a restless sleep.


	16. First Day

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, anything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling.**

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

First Day

James hadn't slept well that night. He was surprised, to say the least. It wasn't that he was upset that his daughter landed in Slytherin, but he was worried. He was worried about her safety and was worried about the various reasons as to _why_ she landed in Slytherin.

He kept thinking about the day she cast that curse, turning a dummy into black goo. It wasn't like she had done anything wrong, but the curse was known for being dark. He was sure there was other stuff that she knew about. She did say the death eaters had planned on using her as a weapon. Was that the reason she was sorted into Slytherin? Was part of her so greatly affected by her three years in captivity that she was somewhat evil?

And what would happen now? James wasn't comfortable at at the thought of her living with other Slytherins', especially with her history with them. She is a Potter and the Potters' are well known for being light wizards, how would she be treated in a house of primarily dark wizards.

It was only 6:00am, but James sighed and got out of bed. He showered and got dressed before pulling out a mirror. When he and Sirius were in school they created these mirrors to communicate with each other, when James started teaching at Hogwarts he created another one for Lily, so he could call her in emergencies or whenever he wanted.

"Lily," he said.

It took a few moments, but after a while he saw the sleepy face of his wife.

"James? What's wrong?" she asked groggily

James shrugged, "Harry made it into Gryffindor."

Lily smiled "that's great! But why does that have you up at 6:00?"

James sighed "Cassie's in Slytherin."

Lily stared at her husband waiting for him to say something negative. "So?" she said when James didn't say anything.

"So? Lily, Slytherin is a house with evil people. I don't want her surrounded by that."

Lily rolled her eyes, "Please don't tell me you made her feel bad about landing in Slytherin?"

James looked surprised at how little it seemed to matter to her. He shook his head, "No I haven't talked to her yet –"

"You haven't talked to her? Or you've been avoiding her?" asked Lily with narrowed eyes.

James looked a little guilty, it wasn't that he was intentionally avoiding her; he just didn't know what to say to her.

"James," lily said exasperated "I swear if you push her away because she is in Slytherin I will never sleep with you again."

James grimaced but nodded. "I just don't know what to think! She'll be sleeping with the enemy."

"You do know that phrase is often used for sex right?"

James rolled his eyes "you know what I mean."

"She'll be fine James. Nothing goes on that Albus doesn't know about and nobody would dare hurt her under his nose. Besides she's strong and can take care of herself."

James nodded, but still looked like he disagreed. "Why would the sorting hat place her in Slytherin though?" James asked, keeping his promise to Cassie that he wouldn't tell Lily about the dark magic.

"Slytherin isn't such a bad house. They're known for their cleverness, resourcefulness, and ambition. Cassie has all of those traits so it shouldn't be such a surprise that she landed in that house."

"Yeah," sighed James, "I suppose your right, I'll talk to her today after breakfast."

Lily nodded and smiled "good, make sure she knows that neither of us care what house she is in," she said.

James nodded "I'll call you tonight after dinner, tell the kids I love them."

Lily nodded, "tell the other two that I love them."

The two of them said goodbye and James saw that it was nearly 7, so it wouldn't hurt to have an early breakfast at the great hall before heading to his class room to prepare for classes.

* * *

Cassie woke up early and saw her other roommates for the first time. Everyone was still sleeping so Cassie grabbed her clothes and headed into their shared bathroom. She took a quick shower and got dressed, when she left the bathroom the other girls had awoken.

"Morning" said Bri while yawning.

"Good morning," said Cassie smiling. She looked towards the other three who were staring at her while pulling their robes out of their trunks.

Cassie waved shyly at them, "I'm Cassie," she said.

One of them stood up and put out her hand, which Cassie took grateful to her for releasing the tension. "I'm Hannah," she said. Hannah seemed nice enough, even if a little confident and arrogant. She was fairly tall, several inches taller than Cassie. She had long blonde hair, which was currently pulled back into a messy ponytail.

"This is Malorie," she said pointing to another tall girl who had ebony skin and gorgeous black hair. Malorie waved back at her and gave her a small smile, but didn't say anything.

"I'm Ivy," said the last girl, stepping in front of Hannah and thrusting out her hand Cassie to shake. She was around the same height as Cassie, but she had jet-black, straight hair and dark blue eyes that didn't seem to hold any softness.

Cassie took her hand and Ivy squeezed it _hard_. Cassie had a bad feeling about her; she seemed to be radiating danger.

"Well it's nice to meet you all," Cassie said smiling even though her hand was aching.

The others just nodded to her and continued to get dressed. Cassie sat on her bed and pulled out a blank piece of parchment. She figured she would write a quick letter to Remus, telling him she was placed into Slytherin, even though she was certain her father would have contacted all of them by now.

Cassie found herself becoming angry with her father, it wasn't her fault that she was placed into Slytherin. She wanted to be in Gryffindor, but it was the hat's choice, not hers.

"Ready to go to breakfast?" asked Bri, just as Cassie had finished the letter.

Cassie nodded "at some point can you show me to the owlry? I have a letter to send to my uncle."

Bri nodded and the two of them headed out of their dorms and through the common room. "We should stop there on our way to breakfast, I'm not sure what our schedules will be like afterwards."

After Cassie sent the letter off with Hedwig (she'd have to remember to tell Harry), the two of them headed to the Great Hall.

They sat at the end of the Slytherin table, the end closest to the head table. Cassie briefly made eye contact with her father, but looked away quickly as she took her seat.

She and Brianna ate in silence for a while before two others joined them. One of the boys was rather short and had dark hair and dark skin and the other was, well, very attractive. He had shoulder length curly brown hair and brown eyes.

"I'm William," said the attractive one as he took a seat next to Cassie. He flashed her a winning grin "and may I say, you are gorgeous."

Cassie blushed, but rolled her eyes. It was very obvious that this guy was a flirt.

"Leave her alone Will," said Bri, throwing a piece of bacon at him. "She's new, you could wait at least a day before flirting with her."

"Ah, but darling sister, I have to get her before some other guy does."

"You're related?" asked Cassie.

"Unfortunately," mumbled Bri.

"We're twins," said Will, scooting closer to Cassie so their arms brushed against each other.

Cassie shook her head, but didn't comment.

"So where did you disappear to while everyone thought you were dead?" asked the short friend.

Cassie tensed and glared at the boy.

"Ignore him, he wasn't there when the gods handed out social skills," said Will, also glaring at his friend. "That's Cole by the way."

Cassie nodded towards him. Before she could respond there was a slip of paper shoved in front of her.

"You're class schedule," came a drawling voice from her left. She looked up and saw the hook nosed face of her head of house.

Cassie took it and smiled at him slightly.

The schedule didn't look too bad, she had decided to take Charms, Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, Ancient Runes, Herbology, Potions, and History of Magic. Although, now she was a little worried about History of Magic, the only reason she decided to take that class at the NEWT level was because her father was teaching it.

She figured she would have to face him sooner or later, and looking at her schedule it looked like it would have to be sooner. Today she had Ancient Runes first, followed by a free period before lunch, and both History of Magic and Transfiguration after lunch. She was a little upset that she didn't have Care of Magical Creatures until tomorrow, she was hoping to spend some time with Charlie.

"Looks like we have Ancient Runes together," said Will.

"And here I thought only smart people took Ancient Runes at NEWT level," said Cassie sarcastically.

Will smiled amusedly at her "don't be confused, I have the whole package. Brains and Looks," he said, his smile turning into a smirk.

"We should go," said Will nudging Cassie. The two of them stood up and said goodbye to the other two, before heading out of the great hall.

They hadn't gotten far when there was a voice from behind her "Miss Potter."

Cassie looked behind her and smiled brightly. She changed her smile into a polite nod "professor."

Charlie smirked at her "What class are you headed to?"

"Ancient Runes and if you don't mind, we are kind of in a rush," with that she gave him a small wink and flipped her hair over her shoulder and walked away, dragging Will with her, leaving Charlie to stare at her.

Will looked at her with wide eyes before giving her a knowing look. He shook his head and tried to hide a smile.

"My goodness Cassandra, flirting with a professor."

Cassie glared at him but didn't say anything.

"Hey, don't worry, I won't say anything." He said putting his hands up in a mock surrender.

* * *

Their morning classes went by quickly, as did lunch and before she knew it Cassie found herself outside of her father's classroom.

She could hear Bri and Will arguing from her side, but she wasn't paying very much attention to what they were saying, she was too busy thinking about what her dad would say to her, or if he would say anything at all.

She felt her body tense when her father opened the classroom door and motioned for everyone to enter. She slipped past him, not making eye contact and took a seat next to Julie, who smiled brightly at her.

"I didn't know you were taking History of Magic, most people drop it after O. ."

Cassie wasn't surprised and realized that this was why there were only ten people in class.

"I've always enjoyed history, my uncle always had a great way of teaching it," she responded, risking a glance at her father who had his back to the class and was writing on the board.

"Well Professor Hudson is really good as well, he likes telling history through stories," Julie said excitedly. It appeared that she was a big fan of his.

Cassie just nodded in acknowledgment.

"Alright everyone settle down and welcome to your sixth year History of Magic class," said her father ('Professor Hudson') Cassie mentally corrected herself. It wouldn't do well for her to call him 'dad' in front of the entire class.

"To begin, I'll take role to appease Professor McGonagall who says that we're required to do that, even though I do know you all," said James rolling his eyes and smiling slightly.

"Andrews, Abbigail?" he said looking at a hufflepuffs student who raised her hand sitting in the back.

"Arias, Julie?" Julie raised her hand quickly and Cassie had to hold back a laugh at the overly excited look on her face.

James had called a few more names; it appeared the class consisted of three Ravenclaws', three Slytherins', three Gryffindors', and only one Hufflepuff.

Cassie was glad that there weren't any other Slytherins' in this class. It had only been her and Will in Ancient Runes. So far she enjoyed her time with Bri and surprisingly Will, but she knew that there was bound to be some pureblood Slytherine supremists and she wasn't looking forward to associating with them. She hoped that most of them wouldn't be continuing with the classes she was.

"Ouch," she said and glared at Julie who had elbowed her in the ribs. Julie looked at her questioningly and nodded her head towards the front of the classroom.

Cassie looked towards who father who was wearing an amused expression.

"Miss Potter, are you back with us?" He asked.

Cassie blushed and nodded. She clasped her hands together and put them in her lap and stared down at them, trying to ignore the couple of people whispering.

She heard her father call the names of the last two Wirth's and then begin his lesson. Cassie didn't pay much attention to the lesson. It was about the rise of Grindelwald, which was a subject that Remus had gone into great detail about only last year.

When James signaled the end of class, Cassie packed her things quickly and made a rush towards the door. She didn't make it far when her father said "Miss Potter, please stay behind."

Cassie let out a sigh, still staring at the door and slowly turned around and made her way towards the front of the class room.

Bri and Will stood by the door, waiting for her, but James shooed them away saying he would show her the way to her next class if she needed help. The two of them nodded and left.

When the door was closed Cassie sat on top of one of the desks and finally made eye contact with her father who was looking at her quizzically.

"What?" Cassie said in a harsh voice. "You can tell me you're disappointed you know? I can take it… If you don't want me to be your daughter anymore that's fine, I can just go back to America. I only came back here for you and mum so if you're that upset that I landed in Slytherine I have no problem going back to my old life-"

Cassie was cut off from her ranting when she was pulled into her father's strong arms.

"Stop it," he said quietly.

Cassie stiffened at first, but then relaxed and slowly hugged her father back as she felt tears sting her eyes.

James pulled back and held onto Cassie's shoulder's forcing her to look in his eyes. "Listen to me Cassandra, I do want you here and I never want to lose you again. I don't care that you're in Slytherin!" He paused thinking of what to say, "I won't lie that I was concerned about you being in that house, but I'm not disappointed that you landed there. Slytherins' have plenty of good qualities; resourcefulness, ambition, cunning.

I'm sorry that I've been ignoring you; I just didn't know what to say or how to react. Please Cass, I can't lose you again."

Cassie saw the truthfulness in his eyes and nodded.

"Sorry," she said and wiped at her eyes. "But, you know if you ever do change your mind…" Cassie trailed off when her father started shaking his head.

"I'll never change my mind Cass, I'll always love you and want you home. You could be a Death Eater and I'd still love you," He said honestly.

Cassie smiled slightly "well at least you don't have to worry about that. I may not be the lightest of witches, but I will _always_ be against the Death Eaters."

James nodded and pulled Cassie into another hug and held her tightly. "I love you Cass," he said softly.

"I love you too."

When they pulled apart James said "you should probably head to your next class... Oh by the way, Bri is a good person to have as a friend. Out of all the Slytherins' she rarely get into trouble and she's not evil." He smiled "Will however, I don't approve of."

Cassie rolled her eyes and headed towards the door "don't worry I'm only _friends_ with both of them," Cassie smiled. "Thanks dad," she said softly.

"Cass," said James. She stopped and turned to look at him. "Why don't you come over at 8 tonight? Harry's coming and we'll talk about your first day."

Cassie nodded and left the classroom for her next class feeling much better than she had in the morning.

* * *

The rest of the day went by quickly. Transfiguration had gone well, she found herself very excited about that class. Remus had never been the best at transfiguration so she was excited to learn from a more experienced professor. Dinner had been very enjoyable, Cassie was very grateful for Will's presence as he was good at getting people to stop asking her personal questions.

It seemed that now that the september first had come and gone it was okay to start asking her any personal question they could think of. Many students had come up to her asking her where she was living and why she disappeared. She found those questions annoying and did her best to shrug them off, repeating answers such as "it's personal" and "just because." There was one question however that truly ticked her off.

It came after dinner as Cassie, Bri, and Julie were making their way out of the Great Hall. She was stopped before she reached the front doors when a tall Slytherin boy grabbed her by the arm. "Welcome back to England," he sneered.

"Thank you," said Cassie shortly.

"Tell me," he said in a voice that reeked of arrogance. "Is that 'Uncle' of yours going to be locked up for kidnapping you?"

Cassie was taken by surprise "Remus didn't kidnap me," she said angrily.

"it's a bit suspicious don't you think?" he said, sneering again. "That you disappear for ten years and everyone believes you to be dead, even the person who actually had the _right_ to take you in? I think that the ministry would probably want to look into that."

"Mr. Birch please let go of Miss Potter," came the familiar voice of her father from behind her. Cassie hadn't even thought of Remus getting in trouble for her disappearance, but she reminded herself that neither her dad or Sirius would let anything happen.

She felt anger ripple through her at the implication and watched as Birch jumped back from her, staring at her surprised. He was gripping his hand in pain. Cassie took a step towards him so she was only a foot away.

"Remus didn't do anything wrong, you'd do well to remember that," she said in a deadly whisper. "I don't take kindly to people threatening my family." With that she turned and walked out of the Great Hall being followed closely by Bri and Julie.

She was walking quickly towards the Slytherin common room, wanting to be alone with her thoughts. The picture of Remus locked up kept floating through her mind. The memories of seeing him looking pale and dead, locked in a dungeon kept resurfacing and Cassie was having trouble controlling her breathing. She couldn't let that happen again.

She was startled out of her thinking when Bri jumped in front of her. "Cassie, you need to calm down. I can feel your magic," she said softly.

Cassie took a deep breath and looked around. She noticed that Julie had left and it was only her and Bri in a deserted corridor.

After a minute of silence and when Cassie managed to control her breathing, Bri said "you know he couldn't go to jail right? Unless your godfather presses charges and proves that he harmed you, he wouldn't go to jail." she smiled softly "and with how much you seem to love him, I don't think he did anything wrong."

Cassie smiled at her gratefully and shook her head. "He was the best," she looked down at the ground "He was the closest thing to a father I had and as much as I love my Godfather, we couldn't stay here anymore," Cassie said honestly.

Bri nodded and surprised Cassie with a quick hug. "you were absolutely terrifying you know?" she said smiling. "you're eyes flashed red for a moment and everyone could feel your magic rippling off of you, not to mention you looked furious."

Cassie snorted and shook her head "I don't like it when people mess with my family."

"I gathered that," said Bri. The two of them turned when they heard people walking down the corridor. Cassie saw Julie, apparently she had run off to get a professor and she saw her father and Professors Snape and McGonagall walking with her.

"Miss Potter, we saw what happened back in the Hall, are you alright?" asked the ever stern Professor McGonagall.

Cassie nodded.

"Is your arm alright? he seemed to grab you pretty hard?" asked the worried face of her father ('Professor Hudson') Cassie mentally corrected herself again.

Snape glared at him and said "you're asking if she's hurt when Mr. Birch had evidence of electricity flying through his arm?"

Hudson glared back at him "It was self defense, he grabbed her first and was making no move to let go."

Cassie had to resist rolling her eyes at her over protective father. "I'm fine, honest." she said to prevent any further argument. "He didn't grab me all that hard and he was just asking a question that I took a little too personally. It made me angry so I shocked him, which I apologize for."

Professor McGonagall looked as though she wanted to disagree, Cassie assumed that the entire Hall had heard what he said. However she nodded firmly and told all three students to get back to their dorms. Cassie glanced at her father and left with Bri and Julie.

* * *

Cassie was sitting near the fireplace with Bri and Will. Nothing exciting had happened since the incident in the Great Hall. A few people had approached her and apologized for asking personal questions, Cassie shrugged them off saying it was normal to be curious. Other people (namely Slytherins') had glared at her for 'hurting' Birch, although it was really only a moment of pain, there was no lingering damage.

So far Cassie was enjoying her time with the two Wirth's It was obvious why Will landed in Slytherin, he had his cunningness mastered and did seem to be quite ambitious. However, Cassie couldn't figure out how Bri landed in the house. She was currently curled up in an armchair reading 'The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.' From what Cassie could gather she didn't have very many close friends, but was fairly well liked by everyone who knew her. She was also very intelligent and Cassie thought she would have done better in Ravenclaw, it was no wonder she was better friends with the eagles.

Cassie checked her watch and saw that it was already five minutes until 8, so she stood up from her comfy armchair by the fireplace and looked at her friends. "I'm going to go meet up with Harry, I haven't seen him at all today," she said.

"Okay, Don't forget," said Bri looking serious "curfew is in two hours and I'm a prefect who has no problem taking off points." She grinned and winked before absorbing herself in her book.

Cassie rolled her eyes and headed towards the door. She sneakily made her way towards her father's headquarters. Thankfully, she didn't run into anyone on her way. She reached the portrait hole, whispered the password, and entered the room. She smiled softly at the sight that met her.

Her father was sitting on the couch wearing a sympathetic but amused expression while Harry was pacing back and forth angrily, venting.

"How was I supposed to know those answers? I _just_ started my _first_ year! How am I supposed to know what asphowood and wormdel does?" said Harry crossing his arms and dropping down beside his father with a small pout on his face.

James ran his hand through Harry's hair, "I warned you that he'd be a git, we hated each other in school and he's all for the 'children paying for their parents mistakes' sort of thing," said James sympathetically.

Harry glared at his father, but leaned into the touch.

"Are we talking about professor Snape?" said Cassie walking further into the room.

Both James and Harry looked up at her voice and smiled largely, with very identical smiles. Cassie still couldn't get over how much they looked alike.

"We were," said James patting the couch on the other side of him. Cassie sat beside him and turned sideways so she was facing the two of them. "Do you have any complaints about the greasy bat?"

Cassie raised her eyebrow and shook her head. "No, I haven't had class with him yet, although he does look at me strangely," she said with a thoughtful frown.

James frowned as well "how so?"

Cassie shrugged "I can't really put my finger on it. It's not in a creepy way or anything, almost like he's analyzing me."

James looked worried "he might be searching your mind, getting information from you."

Cassie shook her head adamantly. "I'm very good at occlumency. Remus started teaching me when I was seven and I mastered it by the time I was twelve. I'd be able to feel it if he was trying to get into my head."

James looked impressed and nodded. "I still want you to be careful, you being in that house still puts me on edge," said James.

Cassie nodded, but didn't say anything.

After a minute of silence Harry said "so should we play a game?"

Cassie laughed and James nodded "go pick one."

Harry jumped off the couch and ran to where the bored games were. It appeared that James had an entire collection of wizarding versions of muggle games. The next hour went by quickly. They played a game called 'loaded questions,' which Cassie found was a good way to learn more about each other. Learn about things that you would never think of asking. At nine o'clock Harry said goodbye to both of them and made his way back to his room since his curfew was earlier than the older student's.

Cassie was putting the game away when James jumped up from the couch and went into his room. He came back out with and small package in his hands.

"I talked to Harry and we agreed that we both want you to have this," he said handing the package to Cassie.

Cassie looked at him suspiciously but opened the package. She felt her eyes tear up when she saw the water-like material. She pulled the invisibility cloak out of the package and dropped it when she felt a shock run through her hands. She groaned feeling the pain spread through her head. She squeezed her eyes shut and felt an arm wrap around her shoulder. She thought she heard a voice, but wasn't entirely sure. As quickly as the pain came, it left, leaving her with a memory of throwing the invisibility cloak over her crying baby brother and putting him in a cupboard. She remembered the intense feeling of fear and foreboding. She remembered telling Harry he had to be quiet until he heard their parents. She opened her eyes and realized that tears were falling down her face. She saw the worried face of her father hovering before her.

"Cassie? Can you hear me?"

Cassie nodded softly and James breathed a sigh of relief. He wiped the tears off of her face.

"I hid him in the cupboard in his nursery. I remember telling him to stay hidden until he heard you," Cassie said quietly.

"Oh Cass," James said and pulled her close to him, wrapping her in a hug. "You remember."

Cassie shook her head slightly "not all of it, just that. Why did it hurt so much?"

"Was it your head?" he asked, still holding her. "I don't know Cass, it could have something to do with whatever it was that made you forget. I'll ask Dumbledore and maybe we can ask Madame Pomfrey as well."

Cassie nodded and pulled away. She reached down and grabbed the cloak again. "Doesn't Harry want this?" she asked.

James shook his head "when you were born I planned on passing it on to you once you got to Hogwarts," he said. "When I thought you were d-dead I planned on giving it to Harry, but Harry and I talked about it and we decided that you should have it. You have more need for it than Harry does, especially since you have more secrets to keep."

"Thank you," she said with a small smile. "I'll give it to him once I graduate."

James smiled at her, "that's up to you, you could always keep it and pass it on to your kids some day."

"Oh good. Will and I were talking about having kids some day," she said smirking.

James smile dropped "that's not even funny, you're not allowed to date Will."

Cassie rolled her eyes "you know Uncle Moony and I had this 'you're allowed to date whomever you want, but I'm allowed to strongly caution against it' rule that was very effective."

James shook his head, "well I'll be having a little chat with my dear friend, but your really can't date until you seventy-five."

Cassie narrowed her eyes, "but you said I could have kids and most women can't have kids after the age of fifty-five."

"Well I've changed my mind," he said seriously "you can't date until you're a hundred and you'll have to adopt."

Cassie shook her head in amusement "a hundred? You're moving up! You realize you got mum pregnant when she was seventeen?"

James glared at her slightly "you are absolutely not allowed to get pregnant at seventeen."

Cassie patted her father's arm consolingly "don't worry dad, I don't even have a boyfriend… yet."

James smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "You should probably get back to your common room, curfew is in ten minutes," he said helping Cassie onto her feet.

Cassie nodded and gave her father a quick hug thanking him for the cloak again. She threw it over herself and left the room. She forgot how much she loved being invisible. She had some fond memories of the cloak; she remembered how she used to hide from her parents in it, especially when her mother wanted her to do something.

Now that she was invisible she decided that she had less than no desire to go back to her common room. Bri usually went to sleep early and Cassie didn't have any desire to be around people who made her nervous. She quietly made her way up the stairs, towards the astronomy tower. After about five minutes she walked through the door and pulled off the cloak. She leaned against the wall and stared up at the stars.

She stood in silence for several minutes, thinking about the indescribable beauty of the stars. They never ceased to amaze her. She was startled out of though when a voice came from her side.

"It's a little late for you to be out, don't you think?"

Cassie looked at the person and smiled at them. "I think a ten o'clock curfew for people from 15 to 16 is far too early."

"I agree," said Charlie leaning on the wall next to Cassie. "I always hated having to be in the common room so early."

Cassie nodded and looked back up towards the stars.

"So do you enjoy looking at the stars? Or is there something on your mind?"

Cassie smiled softly but didn't look away from the sky. "I love looking at the stars. Whenever the stars are visible, it reminds me of peace and quiet. There isn't the noise of people or the lights of cities, it's just quiet." She paused and her face grew saddened.

"For three years I was kept in the dark, at night it was pitch black and cold. When we escaped I was afraid of the dark, one of the few ways I could remind myself that I wasn't in danger, was to go outside." She laughed bitterly. She could feel Charlie's eyes on her, but she continued staring at the sky. "You see there weren't any stars in the dungeon, I guess stars remind me of freedom."

"I'm sorry," Charlie said quietly.

"Me too," Cassie said, finally looking away from the sky.

Before she knew it she was wrapped in a strong and warm embrace. She buried her face in Charlie's chest, feeling the prickling of tears in the back of her eyes.

They stood there for what felt like hours. Cassie relished in the feeling of comfort she was getting from Charlie. Her entire relationship with Charlie was a mystery to her, she realized that she had strong feelings for the man, but they had developed so suddenly. She also trusted him, much more than she trusted most people.

"You know most professors would give detention, take away points, and send the student to the dorms," said Cassie with a small laugh, still holding tightly to Charlie.

Charlie snorted and Cassie could feel him shaking his head. "I may teach you about fascinating magical creatures, but I definitely do not see you as a student… I can't."

Cassie was taken back by the passion in his voice and she pulled back slightly so she could look up at him. "Why do you say that?" she asked, although she figured she already knew the answer.

"'Cause I like you," he said with his usual charming smile. Cassie found herself frustrated that he could say that without blushing in the slightest, while she couldn't even hear it without feeling her face grow warm.

"I like you too," she said quietly. She felt his arms tighten around her.

"Well at your graduation I'll ask you out."

Cassie's brow furrowed together "that's in two years! How am I supposed to wait two whole years?"

"I would love nothing more than to go out with you now and if I weren't your professor I would talk to your parents and uncle, but since I am your professor it's kind of very illegal," he said sounding genuinely disappointed.

"No one would have to know," she said with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Charlie smiled but shook his head "I can't Cass, besides you should enjoy your last couple years of your childhood."

Cassie knew there was no point in trying to change his mind, she didn't want him to be in trouble and she knew if they were caught it would be him losing his job and possibly going to prison. She hugged him again and in a muffled voice said "fine I'll wait."

Charlie held her close "but I'll always be here for you and we'll still be friends." He paused for a moment before adding, "you can date other people you know? You're only sixteen and I don't want you to feel like you have to wait."

He didn't give Cassie a chance to respond. He pulled back and kissed her on the forehead. "You should probably get back to your common room," he said with a small smile.

Cassie nodded and started walking towards the door. She turned back towards Charlie "thank you _Professor_."

Charlie rolled his eyes and shook his head as he watched her walk out of the room.

Cassie pulled back the cloak over herself and made her way down the many flights of stairs. She rounded the corner towards the dungeon when what she saw made her stop. Professor Quirell was talking to a boy that looked to be around Cassie's age. She barely heard part of the conversation, but couldn't help wonder why the kid would speak with a professor like that.

"… Merlin knows why he chose _you_ to work for him. You're weak and pathetic." Said the kid.

Professor Quirell just stood there studying his indignation.

The kid shook his head and Cassie had to hide a gasp when he turned towards her. The face was one she saw many nights in her nightmares. Not that she was afraid of the face, quite the opposite. She would recognize him anywhere. She remembered visibly their careful talks in the dungeon. She remembered the few times she saw him being tortured. When the explosion occurred she had quickly looked for him hoping he could escape too, but he was nowhere to be found.

She missed the end of their conversation but watched as a huffing Quirell stalked past her. She saw the kid turn and walk towards the dungeons. Making up her mind she pulled off the cloak and took a few steps forward.

"Danny?" she said quietly, but being in a deserted corridor it seemed to echo off the walls.

The boy turned around with a surprised look on his face. The surprised looked dropped to a polite smile.

"Cassandra," he said, taking a couple of steps towards her. "I don't go by Danny anymore, It's Michael now. Michael Anderson."

Cassie nodded but didn't know what else to say. She didn't want to broach the subject of the dungeon or kidnappings. "How have you been?" she asked quietly.

Michael smiled at her knowingly, "I've been good. I was placed into a foster home after the explosion. They adopted me during my third year here…. I have a younger sister now, she's a first year in Gryffindor."

Cassie smiled brightly. Danny was her only friend, the only kid she knew, while she was in captivity. She was glad to see that he built a life for himself when he escaped. She was glad in general that he _had_ escaped.

"Well, I should be taking points from you for being out of the dormitory, but seeing as I haven't seen you in years, I'll let it slide." He said as he walked towards her so he was only a couple feet from her. "I'm glad you're okay Cass," he said quietly and he continued walking in the direction of the head's dormitory.

Cassie made her way back into the common room and up to her dorm. She found that the only person missing from their bed was Malorie, the others were already fast asleep.

She changed into her pajamas and lay in her bed, pulling the curtains shut around her. She stared at the ceiling for a while contemplating everything that had happened recently. Thinking of Harry and Danny, she fell into another restless sleep.


	17. Thestrals

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, anything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling.**

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Thestrals

 _Flashback_

"Listen to me Cassie. They're going to take you away for the night. You remember my furry little problem right? Well you'll be safe somewhere else," said Remus. Cassie could see the tears and fear in his eyes, as the already dark dungeon seemed to get darker.

"But moony won't hurt me," Cassie whispered, looking desperately at Remus. "You're Moony and you wouldn't hurt a fly."

Remus shook his head frantically. "I won't remember who I am, I won't remember who you are, you have to leave," he said, pleading with her to understand.

Cassie jumped back startled as she heard footsteps approaching the cell. After a moment the door swung open and both Cassie and Remus got a brief glimpse of two figures in black cloaks before Cassie was yanked by her hair out of the cell.

"Don't hurt her," snarled Remus, his eyes glowing alarming gold color, showing how close the wolf was to the surface. One of the figures in black hesitated slightly and picked up Cassie around the stomach, deciding not to anger the werewolf further.

The two of them exited the cell quickly and locked it with extra powerful charms so the werewolf wouldn't be able to escape. They carried Cassie into a separate iron cell and roughly tossed her into it. She muffled a scream as she landed hard on her hands and legs.

Before the two men closed the door she heard the distant screams of pain that she knew were coming from her uncle.

"Moony!" she yelled as she ran forward, only to be stopped by the door slamming in her face. She stumbled backwards, landing on her bottom. "Moony," she mumbled, letting the tears fall from her eyes. She hadn't been down here for very long, but she didn't want to lose him. He was all she had left.

"Are you alright?" said a voice coming from a dark corner.

Cassie jumped back startled and crawled backwards until her back hit the wall. "W-who a-are you?" Cassie stuttered.

The figured crawled out from the shadows and into the small ray of moonlight. Cassie was surprised to find that the figure wasn't some monster that her mind had invented, but a boy who appeared to be her age, maybe a little older.

"I'm Danny," he said quietly, smiling softly. Cassie noticed that the smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

"I'm Cassandra," she whispered, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Cassandra… I like that name," he said, crawling a little closer to her. "How long have you been here?" he asked when he was only a couple feet away from her, sitting crisscross in front of her.

Cassie looked at him hesitantly and shrugged, "one of the guys told us we've been here for a few weeks."

Danny nodded "it get's hard to tell after a while. Sometimes the days and nights seem to run together."

"How long have you been here?" Cassie asked, feeling more comfortable with the boy.

Danny shrugged in a way similar to Cassie. "A long time, maybe a year," he said sadly. "Who's Moony?"

Cassie's eyes filled with tears again when she heard the name "my uncle," she said, sniffling slightly.

He cocked his head sideways "did they take you together?"

Cassie shook her head, "they took me first, and he came later."

"Well they probably took him for a reason, so I'm sure he'll be okay. They won't hurt him much," he said semi-comfortingly.

Cassie nodded, but didn't correct him by telling him that it was the transformation that was hurting him.

"Do you have any other family?" asked Danny, trying to change the subject. "Outside of here I mean?"

Cassie nodded, "my mum and dad and a brother and another uncle and aunt. But, my mum, dad, and aunt are all dead now," she said sadly.

"My parents are dead too, I never had any siblings though." He said, scooting closer to Cassie so he was sitting right next to her. "What was your brother like?"

Cassie wrinkled her nose and laughed sadly. "He pooped his pants and blew spit bubbles… he also laughed a lot."

Danny smiled and looked away.

"How old are you?"

"I was six when I was taken, but I think I'm seven now," he said in a small voice.

Cassie couldn't even imagine how hard it would be to not even know your own age, but she supposed that that might be her someday. "I'm six," she said and smiled at him for the first time.

"We're almost the same age," he said with a grin. "Want to be friends?" he asked putting out his hand.

Cassie grabbed his hand and smiled, her eyes shining brighter then they had in days, "yeah friends."

 _End flashback_

It was during the breakfast hour on Tuesday morning and Cassie was sitting on a windowsill lost in thought. Reminiscing about that sad little boy who somehow managed to brighten her times of darkness.

She sighed sadly, when she first escaped she thought about him constantly. She wondered if he escaped and she was plagued by guilt for not being able to find him and save him. Of course, now she knew that as a nine-year-old girl she wouldn't have been able to save him, but she still wished she had done more.

As time went on she thought about him less and less. He would still appear in some of her nightmares, but she no longer obsessed over his fate. However, seeing him last night came as a relief for her. The small shred of guilt and uncertainty flew away from her. She now knew that he was safe and that he had been looked after. He got out of that hellhole and found freedom and a new family.

Cassie sighed sadly; he had the same kind smile, the same smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. He had always amazed her; he always seemed cool and collect, like he just learned to accept what was going on around him. Remus was her anchor to life and to the person that she was, but Danny was her anchor to sanity.

"You okay?"

Cassie finally looked away from the window and nodded sadly. "I'm fine."

"Liar," said Harry jumping up and sitting next to her. Cassie brought her knees to her chest to make room for him.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "You didn't go to breakfast."

"I wasn't hungry," said Cassie picking at her nails.

"Cassie, I know you don't like talking about things, but I'm a good listener." Said Harry with a shrug.

Cassie looked into her brother's green eyes. She knew she could trust him; she just didn't like talking about her past. "When Uncle Moony would have his transformations, I would be taken into a different cell for the night," she started talking quietly so that no one could hear them. "There was a boy in the new cell, his name was Danny and I saw him last night… Here," she said.

"Here? As in Hogwarts here?" asked Harry looking surprised.

"Yeah," said Cassie looking back down at her hands, which were in her lap.

"Well that's good isn't it?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, it's great." Said Cassie, with a more joyous voice. "It just brought back so many memories. You know? The first time I met him was Moony's first transformation. I was so scared at the time, but he comforted me and kept me distracted so I didn't worry too much… He did that for every transformation." Cassie paused and looked back out the window.

"I was so scared whenever I was separated from Moony. I was scared that I'd never see him again and that I'd never get to say goodbye. Danny helped me ignore that fear."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," said Harry looking downcast. "It must have been hard, losing your entire family and fearing for the life of the only family you had left."

Cassie reached out and grabbed his hand "it was hard," she said softly. "But it's over with now. I'm safe and I have it all back."

Harry shook his head and Cassie felt guilty. Harry was still awfully young; he didn't need to be burdened with her traumatic childhood.

"It's not fair," said Harry passionately. "It's not fair that you willingly gave your life for me and then you were tortured for three years! It's not fair that you had to go through all that and I got to live a near perfect life. You died for me, you didn't deserve that."

"Harry, no body deserves that. But, I would do it again if it meant that you and our siblings were safe," Cassie said, forcing Harry to meet her eyes.

Before Harry could argue a group of people turned down the hallway so they were no longer alone.

"You still didn't deserve that," he said, teary eyed.

"I know," Cassie said quietly, letting a few tears fall from her eyes.

Cassie and Harry looked over when they saw Professor Hudson walking towards them looking concerned.

"Are you two alright?" their father asked professionally, although Cassie could tell that he was dying to know why his two children were acting so glum.

"Everything's fine," said Harry, wiping harshly at his eyes. "I have to go to class," he said and he jumped off the windowsill, walking quickly towards the stairs.

Cassie sighed as she watched her brother walk off; she shook her head and buried her head in her hands. She regretted saying anything. What eleven-year-old child would want to hear about their sibling's fears?

"Cassie?" said her father quietly.

She looked up at her father's worried eyes. "I shouldn't have said anything," she said sadly, looking around to make sure they weren't overheard. "I wasn't thinking and I told him some things about my past… I didn't mean to upset him."

James shook his head, "I'm sure he's fine. He probably just wishes it was him and not you," he said with a bitter laugh.

Cassie shook her head "he's still only eleven, he shouldn't have to know about that stuff."

James nodded "maybe… but you were six and you shouldn't have had to go through that. You came out on top, so will he.

"Don't worry about Harry, he'll be fine. It's good that you're willing to talk about this stuff, even if it's not with me." He said with a smirk.

Cassie rolled her eyes but smiled at her father. "I should get to class, Care of Magical Creatures is first," she said as she jumped off the windowsill.

James nodded and stepped back to let her pass "Don't forget to use the cloak if you need to… or want to," he said and headed off in the opposite direction, glancing back at his daughter.

Cassie made her way out onto the grounds and walked towards the forbidden forest where the class would be meeting. She got there earlier than anyone else, and noticed that the only thing Charlie ('Professor Weasley') had set up so far was a large stack of dead animals.

Cassie grimaced at the sight and took a few steps back, walking towards a cabin. Cassie assumed that this is where Hagrid, the groundskeeper lived. Her father had told her a lot about him, apparently he used to visit him quite a bit when he was a student here.

She heard barking coming from the back and before she realized it there was a giant black dog that was bounding towards her.

"Whoa boy," she said as he got close to her. He stopped in his tracks and cocked his head at her, as though he was trying to figure out something. Before she could say something else he lied down on his stomach and laid his head on the ground, looking up at her with his big brown eyes.

Cassie felt an odd sensation float through her, similar to the one she felt with Bumper.

"Good boy," she said and the dog jumped up and licked her hand.

"Back Fang, Back." Came a voice and Cassie saw the largest man she's ever seen come walking from the same direction the dog had. "You shouldn' be here," he said.

"Sorry," said Cassie hurriedly. "I was really early to class and… was just looking around." Cassie had almost let it slip that her father recommend she meet him. She figured that wouldn't go over well since her father was 'dead.'

Hagrid paused when he got closer to her and looked at her sadly. "Cassandra, I almos' di'nt recognize you you've grown so much," he said kindly. "Fang seem to have taken a likin' to ya."

Cassie smiled "he's a big softie," she said petting him.

"I was glad ter hear that you're back and well," said Hagrid, looking around awkwardly.

"It's nice to be back," said Cassie smiling kindly.

"Good morning," came the breathless voice of Charlie. Cassie looked around and saw him walking down the hill, towards them.

When Fang saw him he gave Cassie one last lick before running over to Charlie and bounding on him, nearly knocking him over. Charlie laughed, but looked startled when Fang grabbed his shirt in his teeth and dragged him over to where Cassie was standing. When they were close enough Fang let go of his shirt and laid down at their feet, glancing up at them every so often.

"That was weird," said Charlie looking up at Cassie who was only a few inches away from him.

"Obviously he likes the two of yer' together" said Hagrid grinning largely at them. Both Cassie and Charlie blushed, but smiled, momentarily forgetting how inappropriate that was.

"So Charlie, watcha teachin' today?" asked Hagrid.

"Thestrals," said Charlie smiling largely and looking in the direction of the forest. "I've never seen one, but they've always fascinated me."

Cassie looked at him curiously she had never heard of them before, which was strange because Remus loved teaching her about magical creatures.

The conversation ended as they noticed people coming down the hill for class.

"Ready?" asked Charlie brushing Cassie's arm with his hand, sending shivers down her spine.

"Yep," said Cassie leading Charlie towards the clearing where the class was gathering.

Cassie looked around and noticed that the class consisted of mostly Gryffindors with a few Ravenclaws and hufflepuffs and four Slytherins. It seemed that Bri had decided not to continue with this class, but Will and his friend Cole had, as well as her roommate Ivy, much to her disappointment.

Will made his way over to her, with Cole following behind with a slight glare towards Cassie.

"Morning," Will said brightly when he reached her. "You weren't at breakfast this morning, I thought you might be playing hooky," he said with a lopsided grin.

"Nope," said Cassie shaking her head. "Just wasn't hungry."

Will looked at her curiously, but didn't question it. Instead, he turned his attention towards the professor who was gathering the class around.

"So what do you think of Professor McDreamy? Think he'll be a good teacher?" he asked smirking at Cassie when she blushed.

"I'm sure he'll be great," she responded, composing herself.

"Alright class, gather around," said Charlie. "Today we'll be learning about Thestrals, can anyone tell me anything about them?"

A couple of hands went up at the question, mostly girls who looked very eager to answer a question.

"Yes Miss – " said Charlie pointing towards slender pretty girl, with short blonde hair.

"Henderson," she said smiling brightly. "Thestrals are winged horses with a skeletal-like body, they pull the school carriages," she said gloatingly. Cassie was taken back. There were creatures that pulled the school carriages? She remembered seeing them, but not knowing what they were.

"Correct!" said Charlie enthusiastically and Cassie couldn't stop her heart fluttering at how excited Charlie was to be teaching this class. "Five points to Hufflepuff," he added.

"That's stupid," came an annoying voice in the form of Cole, "the carriages pull themselves, there isn't anything that pulls them."

"You bring up my next point Mr. Laird," who can tell me why they appear to be invisible to most people?"

"Because you can only see them if you've seen death," blurted out Will with a harsh voice, that was very uncharacteristic to his usual joyful and confident self. Cassie paled at the information. It explained why not everyone was staring at them at the beginning of the year. Her heart clenched as she thought of the people she watched die, people she couldn't save.

"Correct," said Charlie noticing the tone "five points to Slytherin, Now if you'll follow me, we'll walk just a little ways into the forest, Hogwarts has a heard of Thestrals that are well trained by Hagrid, so they're perfectly safe."

The class followed Charlie into the forest, where Cassie had first noticed the large pile of dead animals. Charlie made a weird calling noise and it wasn't long before she saw a skeletal-like horse walking through the forest and towards the sacks of animals. Cassie looked up at Will and noticed that he was looking directly at it, while all of the other students were craning their necks looking around, hoping to see it.

It paused when it got to the pile as though hearing something and looked up, making eye contact with Cassie. She froze feeling cold all of the sudden. It changed direction and started walking towards her and Will and Cassie noticed that there were several others in the clearing just staring.

Will reached out and gripped Cassie's hand, "Why are they coming over here? How do they know we can see them?" he hissed through clenched teeth. Cassie just shook her head jerkily.

It made it's way through the students, avoiding colliding with them.

"So normally," started Charlie, not realizing the unfortunate situation two of his students were in, "Normally we would see the Thestrals eating the animals, they may or may not be here, we don't know because we can't – "

Cassie was gripping Will's hand tightly when the Thestral was only two feet away from the two of them. It turned its head towards Will and seemed to analyze him for a minute before huffing angrily and starting towards him.

Will jumped back frightened, but Cassie jumped in front of him "Stop!" she yelled. The Thestral stopped and looked at Cassie questioningly, "He's my friend," she said feeling only a little stupid for talking to an animal that couldn't speak.

The Thestral just cocked its head at her, much like Fang had done, before its front legs bent into a bowing position. Cassie was taken by surprise and glanced at the other Thestrals that were all in similar positions.

Cassie was brought out of her shock by Will's exclamation of "what the heck?"

Cassie looked up and noticed that the rest of the class was staring at them, most of them were looking at them as though they were freaks, but other's were looking at them with pity. Cassie made eye contact with Charlie and he was looking at her concerned.

When the two of them made eye contact Charlie asked, "can you see them?"

Cassie swallowed thickly before nodding and looking back at Will who was also nodding.

"Well, um… could you describe for the class what you're seeing? I'm surprised they're not eating…" said Charlie.

Will opened his mouth to talk but Cassie grabbed his arm and whispered "please keep this to yourself," he looked at her and closed his mouth.

The rest of the class was looking at them expectantly, except Charlie who looked torn between wanting to know more and wanting to hug Cassie for seeing death.

"Shall we run for it?" asked Will, nudging Cassie.

Cassie, annoyed with all the staring, nodded her agreement and the two of them turned and sprinted across the ground, back towards the castle. Will shouted over his shoulder "good class professor!" causing Cassie to snort.

When they made it a ways into the castle, Will stopped and turned so he was facing Cassie. "Why? Why did they bow to you? Why did it want to attack me?" he asked.

Cassie shook her head "I-I don't know… I've had weird experiences with animals, but I don't know why."

Will looked at her searchingly, but didn't seem to find anything. He sighed and shook his head "you're a mystery Cassandra Potter."

"Yes I am, and I'm starved so let's go to the kitchen," she said dragging Will behind her.

"That's what you get for skipping breakfast…" he mumbled.

They walked in silence for a few minutes before Will brought up the topic they had both been thinking about.

"My cousin died… He was staying over and he went out of the house in the middle of the night on the full moon and a werewolf killed him… I saw it through my window."

"How old were you?" Cassie asked quietly.

"Nine," he said looking at his shoes as they walked.

Cassie nodded "I've seen a few people get killed, but I'm really not ready to talk about it…" Cassie said.

Will nodded and turned to her once they had reached the portrait entrance to the kitchen. "I figured not, after all, we've only known each other for two days. I just wanted you to know that if you ever do want to talk, maybe I'll understand," he said kindly. Cassie saw the honesty in his eyes and found herself wanting to tell him. Instead she thanked him and tickled the pear, which allowed her entrance into the kitchen.

After nearly thirty minutes in the kitchen the two of them left. Care of Magical Creatures was officially over and they had to get to potions, knowing whom the professor was meant that they couldn't be late.

They had just climbed out of the portrait hole when they ran into Professor Hudson and Professor Weasley. Cassie's eyes widened in surprise and she looked away guiltily.

"Hello Professors," said Will charmingly. "We were just headed to our next class, but is there anything we can do for you?"

Cassie smothered a laugh with her hand. She looked up and saw that both her father and Charlie were glaring at Will.

"Well I was worried," said Charlie, straight-faced. "You had both run off after seeing those creatures and I wanted to make sure you were okay… But, now that I see you're both perfectly fine and simply decided to run off in the middle of class how about we take ten points from Slytherin? Each…"

Charlie paused and glanced at Cassie with a hurt look in his eyes. "We should probably add a detention to that as well. Mr. Wirth you will meet with Professor Hudson tomorrow evening at seven, Miss Potter you will meet with me Friday at Six" he finished.

Cassie nodded, looking down at her feet and Will responded with a "Yes sir."

"Get to class then," said James shooing the too of them away. With one last glance at her father who didn't look disappointed, but curious. Cassie followed Will down the corridor, towards the dungeons.

* * *

The rest of the week had gone by quickly and it was currently Friday afternoon. Cassie was sitting with Bri, Will, and Julie at the Black Lake, discussing their classes now that they had officially experienced all of them.

"My favorite is History of Magic," said Julie with a bright smile.

Bri rolled her eyes "she has a crush on the professor," she said to Cassie.

Cassie wrinkled her nose and shook her head. She didn't even want to think about anyone having a crush on her father.

"I do not!" Julie said defensively, "I think he's a great teacher but it's the subject I find fascinating."

Bri looked like she was about to argue, but Will spoke up and changed the subject before an argument could break out.

"So rumor is your brother is either an amazing seeker to get onto the Gryffindor team or he's using his fame, any insight?" Will asked Cassie with a smirk, knowing that she would get defensive about her brother.

Cassie glared, but didn't get defensive, knowing that he was trying to wind her up. "Definitely the fame," she said sarcastically.

"I overheard Pansy, a first year, talking about how he caught a ball after a forty foot dive. I think that's pretty impressive for an eleven year old… Well anybody really," said Bri.

Cassie nodded "I saw him play over the summer and he definitely has skill."

"You're dad played when he was in school didn't he?" asked Julie. "I saw a couple of trophy's in the trophy room with his name them."

Cassie nodded and smiled "he was a Chaser."

"How about your mum?" asked Will.

Cassie shook her head, "as far as I know, she was afraid of flying. When I was little she would get mad at my dad whenever he'd take Harry or me on a broom. She'd say that feet are meant to be on the ground, not in the air."

"Anyway," said Cassie changing the subject from her supposed dead parents. "Bri what are your least favorite classes?"

"Defense and Divination," she said wrinkling her nose. "Yours?"

"Defense and Potions."

Everyone nodded. "I can't believe that Dumbledore hired Quirell, he's a stuttering mess!" said the ever-polite Julie, much to Cassie's surprise. She hadn't yet heard Julie say anything bad about anyone.

"He probably couldn't find anyone else to fill the position." Said Bri. "Besides, I've heard that Quirell used to be really brilliant, but he took a year off to travel the world and see for himself what he studied, but he couldn't handle what he saw and it kind of destroyed him."

"Well that almost makes you feel bad for him, but also reminds you that he shouldn't be teaching a subject he can't handle in real life." Said Will exasperated.

"I don't know…" said Cassie. "There's something strange about him, sure he's a stuttering mess, but there's something else. I can't tell what it is."

"I suppose I can agree with that." Said will, nodding his head. "You know who else is off this year? Professor Hudson! He used to go easy on me! Said I reminded him of someone, but not anymore. Did I tell you about my detention on Wednesday?"

"Yes!" said Bri, Julie, and Cassie in unison.

Will had come back from his detention on Wednesday with a disgusted look on his face. Apparently James made him scrub all of the toilets near the Gryffindor common room with a toothbrush. Cassie felt a little guilty, knowing her dad was probably just being over protective, but it wasn't like she could tell Will the reason for the professor's change in character.

"Well, before you start complaining again, I have to get to my detention," said Cassie standing up, saying goodbye to her friends.

"See ya later!" said Bri and Will in a bad American accent. Cassie rolled her eyes and walked away from her laughing friends. She had gotten her English accent back fairly quickly, but sometimes she would say things that sounded American, like 'see ya later,' and they would make fun of her almost every time.

Her week had gone by surprisingly quickly. For the most part she enjoyed her classes, Charms and Care of Magical Creatures were her favorites. During her second COMC class they had just studied Thestrals inside, which Cassie was thankful for. Unfortunately both her and Will were expected to answer more questions and not flee in the middle of class. She truly hated Defense Against the Dark Arts, she didn't know how on earth this professor would ever prepare the students to be able to face what is out there. She also didn't like potions. Thankfully Snape didn't seem as bad around her as Harry had described him, but he still didn't seem to know how to act. It was like he was torn between hatred, guilt, and favoritism, which combined for a really strange mixture. For the most part he seemed to settle on ignoring her, favoring other Slytherins and tearing down everyone else.

Cassie had also received a couple of letters from home, which she was grateful for. Her mum had just given the usual 'congrats on making it into Slytherin,' letter. She also talked about what was going on at home with her other siblings. Remus had given Cassie a more detailed note about him and Natalie, apparently they were still struggling, but were talking things through. He had also sent her a charmed notebook, so that instead of writing to him and waiting a few days for a response she could write into this book and he'd receive it on a similar book right away. She had already used it once, to simply tell her about her classes and her friends.

She made it to the Care of Magical Creatures classroom and walked over to the office, which was connected. She knocked hesitantly, but didn't have to wait long before the door opened to reveal Charlie. To her relief he was smiling brightly. She hadn't gotten the chance to talk to him after he gave her the detention. She gave him a quick apology after the next class, but that was all, she was glad he didn't still seem cross with her.

Well, we might as well talk in here, he said and he let her pass him. Cassie looked around the office and couldn't help but let a small giggle escape. The office wasn't very large and only had a few books in it, which was different than most other offices that she'd been in. Charlie had various pictures of his large, redheaded, family throughout the room. But, what made her laugh was the large posters of dragons and small dragon figuring's that were scattered throughout the room. She knew he used to work with dragons, but didn't realize how much he must love them.

"You can laugh," came Charlie's voice from behind her. "I'll have you know that dragons are fascinating creatures, I've even requested to Dumbledore that he let me bring a child dragon to show the class."

Cassie turned around to face him "what did he say?"

Charlie smirked, "he said he'd think about it."

Cassie shook her head "I honestly think he's crazy."

Charlie reached forward and brushed some hair out of her face "he is, completely mad, but still absolutely brilliant."

"So Miss Potter," said Charlie "I believe you know why you are here."

Cassie wrinkled her nose, "because I ran away in the middle of class."

"Yes, well technically." Charlie paused and Cassie could tell he was going to ask her about what she saw and why she ran. "What happened?" he asked.

Cassie's smile fell a little, "I saw the Thestrals pulling the carriages at the start of the year," she began. "I didn't know what they were I had never even heard of them before. When Will said that the only people who could see them were people who have seen death, I guess I just was taken by surprise. I didn't want people to know that I had seen someone die.

I planned on acting like I couldn't see them. I saw one walk through the forest, followed closely by several others. It was walking towards the meat, but then it paused like it heard something. It turned towards Will and I, as far as I know we are the only ones who could see them. Then it started walking towards us, Will was surprised because he didn't know how they could tell that we could see them. It paused and it looked at Will, but then it decided to attack him, that's when I stepped in front of him and told it to stop… then they… well… they bowed," she said hesitantly. "I was confused, we both were and with everyone staring and wanting us to tell them what we saw, well we just decided to skip the questions and run for it." Cassie finished, finally looking up at Charlie to see confusion written all over his face.

"Wait," he said "they were going to attack Will? They bowed to you? I've never heard of Thestrals doing anything like that. They're actually very gentle creatures."

Cassie shook her head "I don't know, but that's what happened."

"Was Will doing anything? I mean they stopped when you told them to, so it was only him that it was upset with, what was he doing at the time?"

Cassie shook her head. "He wasn't doing anything, well nothing differently than I was doing. We were both frozen in shock, not sure why it was approaching us, it paused, then it lunged at him."

Charlie was still looking confused "That really doesn't make sense, There must have been something that it didn't like in order for it to try and attack him." He paused, looking thoughtful. "How about the bowing, has that ever happened?"

Cassie hesitated, but then shook her head. "Never bowing, but I've had strange experiences with animals before."

"Like what?"

"Well I had a strange connection with my dog Bumper, apparently my eyes glowed gold when I bowed to the goblins at Gringotts, they were also talking about me and they all looked surprised. Then there was the thing with Fang, where he dragged you over to me, which you said was weird although he might just be an interesting dog. And now there are the Thestrals."

Charlie looked thoughtful, "I've never heard of anything like that, let's call Dumbledore, I think he should know about this especially since an animal tried to attack a student."

Cassie nodded her assent, and Charlie walked over to the fireplace, throwing floo powder into the fireplace "Dumbledore," he said.

The face of Dumbledore popped into the fire "what can I do for you Charlie? And Cassie?"

"We had a couple of questions for you professor, we wanted to request a meeting," said Charlie.

Dumbledore nodded "I'm not busy at the moment, I'll come through, shall I?"

"Yes Professor."

Dumbledore's head disappeared briefly, but it wasn't long before Dumbledore came through the fireplace and stepped into the office.

"What can I do for you?"

Charlie gestured to Cassie and she recounted the story of the Thestrals, goblins, and dogs for Dumbledore. Dumbledore didn't interrupt at all but looked thoughtful. When Cassie finished, Dumbledore gestured for everyone to take a seat.

"Well I can honestly say that I have never heard anything like this." Said Dumbledore. "It will require me to do more research, however I'd like to talk more about the incident with the Thestrals.

"Was William doing anything that may have upset the Thestral?"

Cassie shook her head "we were doing the same thing, pretty much just staring, we were both surprised and frightened."

Dumbledore nodded "Well what it looks like to me is that the animals or creature is you will all have a strange liking to you, Cassandra."

Cassie shook her head "the Goblins didn't seem to like me all that much."

"Ah, but Goblins are hard to understand, it's very hard to tell their liking from their disliking, for it looks very similar. However, there was something about you that surprised them.

"Was William doing anything to you, when the Thestral decided to attack?"

Cassie looked surprised and glanced at Charlie who was frowning.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean, Professor. He was holding my hand, but that was it."

"Ah," said Dumbledore. "I do believe that would be a reason for the Thestral to attack, if it has a liking to you, it may not like the idea of you with William."

Cassie glanced at Charlie who had a small smirk on his face "but there's nothing between Will and I."

"I can not be certain Cassandra, but right now that seems the likeliest reason. It did after all stop when you told it to. As for why animals are reacting like this to you, it may just be that you have the ability to connect with them, in a way different than most witches and wizards. You may even have the ability to speak with them if you try, but like I said I will have to look more into this," finished Dumbledore standing up and concluding the meeting.

Cassie and Charlie stood up as well "thank you professor," she said.

"You're very welcome," he paused when he reached the fireplace. "Cassandra, I was wondering what you might think about private lessons in defense from myself?"

Cassie looked surprised but smiled brightly, "That would be fantastic professor!" she said.

"Excellent, well I shall send you word on a time to meet. Also Charlie, you may want to remember to be careful, James is a very protective man," he said and with that he waved goodbye and disappeared into the flames, leaving a gaping Charlie and a giggling Cassie.

Charlie looked at Cassie and started laughing as well "that man knows everything," he said shaking his head.

"So professor," said Cassie, brushing his arm with her fingers. "About this punishment thing?" she said and then blushed when she realized how suggestive that sounded.

Charlie raised his eyebrows and fidgeted uncomfortably, eventually turning away from Cassie. "Lines," he said, his voice more high pitched than normal. He cleared his throat and looked back at Cassie, who was pleased to see the slight blush running across his cheeks. "I must not run away in the middle of class, twenty times," he said, his voice back to normal.

Cassie nodded and sat in front of his desk, pulling out a piece of parchment and a muggle pen and began writing. Charlie sat behind his desk and pulled out several papers for grading.

It didn't take very long before Cassie said "finished," and handed the paper to Charlie. Charlie barely glanced at the paper before nodding his approval.

Charlie walked around the desk and leaned against it, standing infront of Cassie.

"Cass, about the seeing death thing," he began and Cassie stiffened, she thought that conversation was over. "I can't act like I know what it was like for you, because I don't. But I'll always be there to talk, if you want. I'm always here for you."

Cassie looked up at him and saw compassion, as well as something she couldn't identify, in his eyes. Before she realized it, she found herself spilling some of her darkest secrets to him.

"I saw several people get killed," she said. "actually, quite a few. They wanted me to be a machine, someone to do their bidding which included killing. They tried to break me in any way possible, one of the ways was by killing people in front of me. It just started off with the killing curse, I was so young I didn't really understand it, but I knew it was bad when I told Remus and he started to cry…" she trailed off, not looking at Charlie. "Then it got worse, more violent. Some would use knifes or swords, others would use injections. There were other dark curses that would be used to end a life. There were many people, people I didn't know, but faces I will never forget. Eventually they taught me the curses and had me practice on dummies. When I was eight they brought me a real person to kill, I couldn't do it, I never could," she finished, not even noticing the tears trailing down her face.

She felt Charlie's hands on her face, wiping the tears away and looked up at him, surprised she didn't find any disgust on his face, but sorrow.

"It takes an evil person to murder, you're not evil," he said quietly.

"Sometimes I worry that I am or that I will be," she said honestly.

"You're not," he said confidently. "If you were evil they would have been able to break you at some point within the three years that you were there. You also wouldn't feel guilty for something you didn't do, something you only witnessed."

Cassie nodded "thank you," she said quietly.

Charlie reached down and pulled Cassie up and into his arms, gently running his hand through her hair while she buried her head in his chest.

They stood there fore a while, in a position so similar to a few nights previously, both gaining comfort from each other.

When they pulled apart Charlie asked, "Are you going to tell your father what Dumbledore said?"

Cassie nodded, "I'll tell him Monday, he went home for the weekend."

Charlie smiled and nodded "my living quarters are behind that portrait of the young boy holding a kite, just a few picture down from this room," he said. "The password is Welsh Green, if you ever need to talk, or want to talk then please come see me. Or if you get bored," he said smiling.

"I will," she said honestly. "It's getting late and I promised Will I'd help him plan a prank on my father," she said as she backed away towards the door.

Charlie frowned slightly "you and Will," he said hesitantly "you've gotten close… he seems like a decent guy… if you wanted to I-I mean it'd be alright-" he stopped his stuttering when he found Cassie's face right next to his.

She kissed his cheek right next to his lips "I'm not interested in William," she whispered firmly. Charlie's eyes glazed over and he turned his head as though to kiss her, Cassie pulled back.

"I'll see you later professor," she said and she left the office, smiling to herself.


	18. Is It Love?

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, anything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling.**

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Is it Love?

"You're sure this'll work?" asked a hesitant Julie. "I don't want to get in trouble! What if he doesn't like pranks?

"Who doesn't like pranks?" asked the ever-confident Will, who was casually leaning against the wall in front of the doors to the Great Hall.

"A lot of people don't like pranks," insisted Julie looking nervous.

"You're acting suspicious, it'll start arousing attention if you don't calm down. The first part is already set in motion, we're just waiting for Cassie, and therefore it's too late to back out."

"This isn't just a prank William! What if this goes wrong and we kill him? What if he gets stuck like that?" she spoke rapidly looking more and more nervous with every passing second.

"It'll be perfect," said Cassie walking towards the two. "Alright, did you give the cup to the house elves?" she asked Will.

Will nodded and put his arms around his two friends, steering them into the Great Hall. Julie split off once they reached the Ravenclaw table and Will and Cassie made their way to the Slytherin table, sitting close to the head table.

It was Thursday morning and for the last six days Cassie and Will had spent their free time discussing a way to prank Professor Hudson. Will was still a little bitter about being treated differently and Cassie was more than happy to prank her father.

It wasn't a very complicated plan, Julie had brewed the potion, Will had convinced the house elves to put the potion in the drink that was going to James, and Cassie's job was to use magic to activate the potion. Unknown to her two accomplices she was also supposed to ensure that James still looked like Professor Hudson and didn't return to his normal form.

Cassie glanced at her father who was talking about something with Charlie. Charlie made eye contact with her and she winked at him. She hadn't gotten the chance to visit him since they almost kissed, but was planning on seeing him sooner rather than later.

She sat down with Will and the two of them began talking about Quidditch, although they were watching James from the corner of their eye. When Cassie saw him take a drink, she wandlessly whispered the spell under her breath.

James paused his conversation and looked at his glass confused. The spell activated and his chair shot back from the table. He groaned and stared at his hands as they started to shrink. His eyes widened and he looked around the hall, looking for the culprit. Cassie noticed professor McGonagall asking him what was wrong, but he couldn't respond since the rest of his body was shrinking. Non-verbally and wandlessly, Cassie was casting charms to ensure that he kept on his glamour's.

Finally the entire hall seemed to be silent and staring at where Professor Hudson used to be. Now there was a five-year-old boy with blonde hair and blue eyes, who was looking at himself with surprise. At once the entire hall burst into laughter at the sight of their professor as a child.

Cassie and Will laughed loudly with the rest of the hall and Cassie was pleased to note that Professor McGonagall also looked like she was trying to hold back a laugh. Charlie was clutched over, holding his side, laughing loudly. Most of the other professors seemed to be caught between amusement and trying to look stern.

James stood up, but found himself to be much shorter than normal, so he stood on a chair and magically amplified his voice.

"Alright, who did this?" he said in the squeaky voice of a five year old. This caused the entire hall to laugh even louder. Many people were laughing so hard they had tears streaming down their faces.

Professor McGonagall seemed to get a grip on herself and she turned to James and tried to reverse the changes. Nothing she tried worked so a few other professors tried things as well, to no prevail.

"Well I'm sorry to say Professor Hudson," said Dumbledore with the usual twinkle in his eye. "I fear that you will have to remain like this until the spell or potion wears off."

Dumbledore then turned to the rest of the student body "You all have classes to attend, Professor Hudson will still be teaching his classes, so hop to it."

Cassie and Will got up quickly and followed some of their fellow students out of the Great Hall. Once they exited the Great Hall, they both took off running towards their first class of the day, which was Potions. They had the class with the Ravenclaws and so Julie sat in front of them. Cassie was pleased to see that she was also grinning; apparently she wasn't so worried about the prank anymore.

Potions was rather enjoyable, they brewed Amortentia. Cassie was a little taken back when she realized that she smelled grass, the ocean, and a smell that was distinctly Charlie. She knew she liked him, but this was a love potion, she didn't think she loved him.

When potions ended they made their way to the History of Magic classroom. Cassie and Will had made sure to do the prank on a day they had History of Magic, they figured they would either be taught by a five year old, or class would be cancelled.

They got to the classroom on time to see the first class leaving. Cassie was pleased to see that it was Harry's class.

"Harry!" she called.

Harry grinned brightly at her and made his way towards her with Ron, Hermione, and Neville following closely.

"How's Professor Hudson? Is he mad?" she asked when Harry reached her.

Harry nodded enthusiastically. "He was at first, but nobody could stop laughing at him. He ended up just making us read for the entire class." He said with a wrinkle of his nose.

Cassie glanced at Will who was smirking.

Harry's eyes widened as he saw the exchange "wait, did _you_ do that to him?" he asked.

Cassie smiled mischievously "maybe," she said.

"Harry, we have Transfiguration we need to go," said Hermione tugging on his arm.

Harry nodded at her and waved goodbye to Cassie and her friends.

Bri grabbed Cassie and dragged her into the classroom, sitting beside her in the second row. Will and Julie sat in front of them.

Bri would have been in on the prank, she knew that they were up to something, but due to her prefect status she had opted out, not wanting to get into trouble.

The class started laughing when they saw the five-year-old professor Hudson sitting at the desk that looked far too large for him.

James made eye contact with Cassie and she couldn't help but burst into laughter again. Her five-year-old father glared at her and she looked down at the desk.

Will looked back at her and hissed "keep it cool, don't give us away," but it didn't make a difference. James was still looking at her suspiciously and now that Cassie couldn't make eye contact, it looked even more suspicious.

Like he did with Harry's class, James had simply assigned them to read for a full hour. Throughout the class people would glance at the professor and snort. Some of the girls were whispering excitedly and cooing at the five year old.

When the class ended James called for Cassie and Will to remain behind. Julie had a grateful look that she wasn't asked to stay as well.

The two of them stood at the front of the classroom, Will looked calm and collected, but Cassie was giggling uncontrollably and not making eye contact with her father.

"You did this to me didn't you?" asked the five year old with crossed arms and a small pout.

Cassie glanced up at him and burst out laughing again at the child-like expression.

"Cassandra Lily Potter, change me back right now," said James stomping his foot on the ground. He seemed to momentarily forget that Will was in the room, since he used her full name, sounding more like a father than a professor.

Cassie just laughed harder at his child-like antics. She knew she was busted so she shook her head "It'll wear off by tomorrow," she said, gasping for breath.

Cassie reached into her bag and pulled out a muggle camera that Remus got her. She snapped a quick picture and put it back. "I've got to show Sirius," she said.

James looked even madder, "Don't you dare! He'll never let me live this down."

"Good" Cassie mumbled, finally getting control of her laughter.

Will cleared his throat and Cassie was reminded that the two of them weren't alone together in the room. She could see the confusion and curiosity written in his face.

"He's friends with my godfather," she explained, grateful that it was true for both James Potter and Niall Hudson.

"Oh," said Will "I didn't realize," he said, although he still had a look of curiosity.

"Detention for both of you," said James "and thirty points from Slytherin."

Cassie and Will nodded and left the room; once they exited they both began laughing again.

"I've never seen a professor pout like that!" said Will as the two of them made their way to the common room for their free period.

Cassie nodded in agreement. They finished the walk in silence and both plopped down in chairs next to the fireplace.

"So did you just meet Professor Hudson when you moved back to England?" asked Will.

"Yes," she said automatically. "Over the years he and his wife became close to Sirius, I saw him a few times and we went to Diagon Ally with them."

"That's cool," he said. "No wonder you were so willing to help me with that prank."

Cassie shook her head "I was wiling to help you with the prank because pranking is fun," she said honestly. The fact that they had pranked her father was just a bonus.

* * *

It was just before dinner and Cassie was making her way towards Charlie's living quarters. She hadn't been in there yet and she hesitated momentarily at the portrait of the small boy holding a kite. She was still surprised about smelling him in her amortentia; it made her want to be near him so much more, but it also scared her. She didn't like the thought of having to rely on someone. Plus she was worried that maybe he didn't like her as much as she liked him.

"Can I help you miss?" asked the little boy.

"Oh yeah," said Cassie "um… Welsh Green."

The boy smiled brightly and opened the portrait.

Cassie stepped through and looked around the room. The living quarters weren't quite as big as her fathers' but it was just as cozy. There was a small living room with a small kitchenette connected. Charlie had more pictures of his family on the fireplace and Cassie blushed when she also saw a picture of her and Charlie that Harry had taken over the summer.

"I hope you don't mind, I liked the picture," said Charlie.

Cassie turned around and smiled brightly at him. "I like it to," she said shyly.

Charlie smiled "What brings you here?" he asked sitting on the couch.

Cassie walked over and sat by him. "So you know the prank this morning?"

Charlie snorted "Yeah, that was you right?"

She nodded and pulled out her camera. "I was thinking that we could go to his room and take off his glamour's and take pictures of him as a little James," she said excitedly.

Charlie laughed, "It hasn't worn off yet? How long will it last?"

"He'll change back sometime in the morning," she said with a shrug. "So, wanna come?"

"Definitely," he said standing up, pulling Cassie up with him.

They made their way to the door, but before they exited Cassie threw her invisibility cloak over herself. She laughed when she saw the shocked look on Charlie's face.

"You have an indivisibility cloak?" he asked.

"It was my dad's," she said and she grabbed his hand trough the cloak, pulling him through the portrait hole.

They walked for a few minutes in silence.

"This is strange, ya know?" said Charlie. "You're right next to me and I feel like I'm talking to myself, but I'm not."

Cassie stayed silent, but kept walking right next to him.

"You are there right? Cass?" he asked looking around him although he knew he wouldn't be able to see her.

Charlie stopped where he was standing and closed his eyes breathing in deeply.

Cassie stopped with him and stood next to him looking confused. She didn't have time to react before she saw Charlie lunging at her and holding her in a tight embrace, while she was still under the cloak.

"Ha, you're not as sneaky as you think," he said resting his chin on top of her head.

"It was worth a shot," she said with a grin. "You know you probably look stupid right now, hugging the air and all."

"Don't care," Charlie mumbled. "I'm perfectly comfy."

Cassie smiled largely "what if someone walks down this corridor and see's you like this. They'll think you're crazy."

"They would be doing the same thing if they had a perfectly beautiful, invisible woman next to them."

Cassie was grateful that the cloak hid her because she could feel the flush spreading through her cheeks and down her neck.

Charlie pulled back, "but I suppose your right, I don't need my students thinking I'm crazy."

"But you are crazy," she said as the two of them began walking again.

"That is true, but they can't know that yet!" he said with a goofy grin.

Cassie couldn't resist, although her hand was under the cloak she reached out and grabbed his hand. He squeezed back and didn't let go until they reached James' living quarters.

Cassie whispered the password and the two of them entered. When the door closed behind them Cassie pulled off the cloak and turned to face Charlie who was looking at her with a calm and loving look. He smiled and ran his fingers through her hair, straightening it out after it was messed up by the cloak.

"Um… sorry," Cassie looked over and saw her brother standing awkwardly "I heard the door open and figured it was you," he said.

Cassie smiled at him "I figured we could come and see dad without his glamour's," she said as she walked further into the room, with Charlie following behind her.

Harry laughed, looking more relaxed. Cassie noticed that he kept shooting uncertain looks at Charlie.

"He dropped his glamour's as soon as he came back for the night." Harry said "and he admitted that your prank was brilliant, he just wished you did it on someone else."

They walked into the living room and Cassie laughed when she saw her little father sitting on the couch. He glared at them when he saw them, but didn't say anything. Apparently he didn't like his squeaky five-year-old voice.

Cassie walked over to him and sat beside him. "Come on daddy, please don't be mad at me, I just wanted to have a bit of fun," she said with her most innocent puppy dog look.

"No fair," James said, "you learned that look from Moony! That's how he never got in trouble at school!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said innocently.

James scoffed and crossed his arms, "How did you do it?" he asked.

"Well a potion was brewed, the house elves slipped it into your drink, and then there was a spell to activate it," she said honestly.

James' brows furrowed as he frowned "I thought Moony taught you how to brew? He can't brew potions to save his life."

Cassie gasped in mock outrage, "I'll have you know it was actually Erin, Jon's mom, who taught me how to brew, well who prepared me for the O. … and I brewed amortentia today perfectly."

James shook his head "who brewed the potion? It wasn't you and it wasn't Will so who was your third accomplice?"

"You really think I would let someone else get in trouble? Honestly dad…" she said with a slight shake of her head, but she was smiling.

She reached into her bag and pulled out her camera, taking a few pictures before her dad realized.

The rest of the night was fun; they sat around talking and joking around. It appeared to Cassie that James actually enjoyed being five, although she did give him chocolate so she though maybe the kid was hyper. By nine o'clock James was already falling asleep, so Cassie, Harry, and Charlie said goodnight to him and headed back to their rooms.

* * *

"Charlie," said Harry when they got out of James' headquarters. "Could you walk me back to my room? It's just past curfew and I don't want to get into trouble."

"Uh… Sure Harry," he said, slightly confused. The two of them said goodnight to Cassie and Charlie walked with Harry back to the Gryffindor common room.

"So Harry, how have classes been?" Charlie asked.

"Fine," he responded shortly. They walked in silence although Charlie could see Harry was fidgeting nervously. Shortly before they reached the Fat Lady Harry stopped and rounded on Charlie.

"Look, she's my sister and I just got her back," he began. "She went through hell for three years and then found a home in America. Coming back here was really hard for her… Don't give her a reason to leave again."

Charlie gaped at him; he had though he was being subtle when he and Cassie were around others. "I don't think I know what you mean Harry," he said, although he knew exactly what Harry meant.

"Yes you do, you like her and she likes you. Don't lead her on if you aren't serious, I don't want to lose my sister."

"Harry, okay yes I like Cassie," he admitted, resting his hand on Harry's tense shoulder. "I like her more than I have ever liked anyone. I don't know what it is, but ever since we first met I've been drawn to her. I swear, I will not hurt her and I won't let her feel like she needs to go back to America."

Harry still looked unsure, but relaxed a little. "Okay, but if you hurt her, I know I may not be very big, but my dad, godfather, and uncle will probably kill you,' he said and Charlie had no doubt that they would definitely kill him.

"I won't hurt her Harry, I promise," he said honestly.

Harry nodded, only slightly satisfied. "Well then I hope you make her happy," he said.

Charlie smiled "get some sleep Harry. You've known me for your whole life, I'll protect her."

Harry smiled genuinely this time, "She needs someone to protect her. Night Charlie," he said before heading through the portrait hole.

Charlie headed back to his living quarters with his mind spinning. He had just gotten the "if you hurt her, I'll kill you" talk from her kid brother. He knew he needed to be more careful, If James found out how he felt about his daughter; well Charlie shuddered thinking about what he would do.

Then again, Charlie felt that it might be best if he went to all three of her parents and talked to them about dating her. He knew he should wait until she graduated, or at least until he wasn't her professor, but the more he saw her, the harder it became.

He hadn't been expecting this to happen. He was attracted to her when he first saw her when she returned to England. After Harry's party he could tell he definitely had a crush on her. He managed to talk Bill and Ron into going over to the Potters' house as often as they could so he could spend more time with her. By the end of summer he realized it wasn't just attraction and it wasn't just a simple crush. He couldn't explain why, but he felt drawn to her. Like, wherever she was, that is where he belonged.

He had never imagined he would feel this way about anyone. Sure, he had dated a few girls here and there, but it was never anything serious. He always imagined he would be single for the rest of his life, he could never picture himself getting married or being a father. But ever since meeting Cassie, the idea of marriage and a family seemed much more appealing.

He stopped his thoughts before they could go much further. He couldn't already be thinking about marrying Cassie, she was sixteen for goodness sakes, (almost seventeen his mind added unhelpfully). His mind also reminded him that she was almost the same age her parents' were when they had her and he always did like the Potter family and wouldn't mind being like James and Lily.

Charlie shook the thoughts out of his head when he reached the entrance to his living quarters. He plopped himself on his bed, fully clothed, and laid on his back staring at the ceiling. He didn't know how to handle this situation, if only Cassie were a little bit older.

One thing was for sure; he didn't particularly want to see her with anyone else. He figured maybe he should talk to Remus. He seemed like a reasonable person who wouldn't curse him for stating that he had feelings for his niece.

With that, he undressed and lay in his bed. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the table and enjoyed dreaming about the powerful little red head with the vivid green eyes.


	19. Homesick

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, anything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling :)**

 **AN: Thank you for the reviews! I really appreciate them. I've decided to take this story into a different direction, so it'll probably end up having a sequel. Anyways, let me know if there is anything specific that you would like to see in the story!**

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Homesick

 _Arianna!_

 _Hi friend, we miss you a lot and hope you're doing well! But you're probably great being over in England with all those cute guys with British accents. Zach is nodding his head agreeing with me and Jon just hit him over the head. I'm still a little bitter that you left me ALONE with those two, but I'll forgive you eventually._

 _Life here has been grand. Junior year kind of sucks school wise but much more fun social wise. Fun story, you know that guy Mike who was always hitting on you? Well apparently he came to school stoned and well long story short he's been expelled and I believe he is now going to school in Tillamook._

 _Jon and Zach are the same, can't get their hands off each other. Nothing else to note._

 _Also, for the best news of the day, Tommy asked me out! Remember Tommy? The cute guy in chemistry? The quarterback on the football team? YEP! He's asked me out and so we're dating, have been for two weeks._

 _Anyways, not much else to say. Jon said he would send this to you with the letter from his mom._

 _Miss you Darling, School's not the same without you!_

 _Love, Lucy (and Jon and Zach)_

 _P.S. We're having a Christmas party this year. Do you think you can come? Mr. Black is invited too of course! Actually you can invite whoever would want to come. I really hope you can make it!_

 _P.P.S. We've included pictures of your dearest best friends… and some of your not dearest best friends. Anyways, we figured you could hang them up in your room._

Cassie smiled at the letter and pulled out the small stack of pictures. She smiled sadly at the first few pictures, which were all of her friends. One was of Jon and Zach at the beach, another was a selfie of the three of them at their favorite bakery.

She opened the second letter, which she assumed was the one from Erin.

 _Dearest Arianna,_

 _Jon has filled us in on everything going on with you and I must say I was shocked! I knew that you and Remus had your secrets, but I can honestly say I never expected what he said._

 _I want you to know that we are all here for you one hundred percent. I know leaving and going back to your old life is probably very difficult and a huge transition. But stay positive, you have your family back and with time you'll be more comfortable with them. If things do become too much, you're always welcome here. I sent your uncle a letter as well telling him the same thing._

 _Anyways, be sure to write back and tell us all about Hogwarts and your family. Florence is definitely not the same without you; all three of us miss you a lot._

 _Write soon!_

 _Love,_

 _Erin_

 _P.S. you'll have to let me know if you prefer being called Arianna or Cassandra :)_

Cassie was currently sitting in the Great Hall alone at the Slytherin table. September had already come to an end and October started. The last few weeks since the Prank had gone by very quickly. The majority of professors seemed to be under the impression that sixth years would be taking the NEWTs this year rather than next year, so Cassie's days were very busy with classes and schoolwork.

As the school year progressed she found that she didn't have as much time to spend with Harry or her father. They made it tradition to get together every Thursday night, which was supposed to be last night, although Cassie sent word saying she wouldn't make it.

For the last week she had been distancing herself from everyone. It wasn't that she had done it on purpose; she just didn't have the energy or desire to spend time with people. It was while she was sitting in the Great Hall reading the letters from her friends that she realized why. She was homesick.

She felt the tears prickling the back of her eyes as she read the letters. They weren't sad at all, but she missed them. Staring at the pictures sadly, she wanted nothing more than to be with them, and Remus.

Her and Remus talked a few times a week, but it was different and wasn't enough. Florence was her safe haven, it was there that she found love and comfort with people after she escaped her captivity. She could spend all evening telling Remus about her day or spend time with her friends. They were her first true friends.

She missed them all a lot and found that people at Hogwarts, even her father, brother and Charlie, couldn't prevent her homesickness. This is why she was sitting at lunch alone on Friday afternoon.

"Cassie? I haven't seen you at all today and you weren't at breakfast," said Bri taking a seat beside her.

Cassie shrugged, not making eye contact "I woke up early and wasn't hungry."

Bri was looking worried, "Maybe you should go see Madame Pomfrey. You look like you haven't slept all week," she said.

Cassie shook her head "I'm fine, it's just the busyness of schoolwork," she said. Although she knew that wasn't true, she hadn't been sleeping. For the last week she had been waking up with gut wrenching nightmares. She'd taken to casting silencing charms on her bed so she wouldn't wake anyone else up.

It was obvious that Bri didn't believe her, but she didn't mention it. "Well are you going to eat at least?" she asked, gesturing to Cassie's empty plate.

"M'not hungry," she responded, finally making eye contact.

"Cassie," said Bri worriedly. "What's going on? I've hardly seen you the last week; you barely show up to meals, you don't sleep. Did something happen?"

Cassie stood up angrily, "I'm fine, okay? Nothing's wrong," she said grabbing her stuff together. She walked quickly out of the Great Hall, passing Will as she left.

* * *

Will made his way over to his sister and sat down. "What happened?" he asked.

Bri shook her head "I just asked her what was going on and she snapped."

"She's been off all week," he responded. "I wonder what's going through that thick head of hers."

Bri rolled her eyes "She's not thick and you know it… Do you think something happened at home? or maybe somebody was being mean to her here."

Will shook his head "if someone did something here she'd tear them limb from limb. You've seen how feisty she is when she's angry," he said.

"Only if the person is threatening someone else, if they were mean to her she'd probably just sit there and take it."

"I don't know Bri," said Will with a frown.

"Should we ask Harry? He would probably know if something happened at home and we could see if there's anything we can do for her."

"I suppose that's a decent idea," he said hesitantly.

"What is it? Your thinking…"

"What if it doesn't have to do with either?" Bri looked confused, so he expanded. "Look, something happened to Cassie. I know we never ask about it because we are her friends and if she wanted to tell us she would, but something happened and there is a reason she left. What if this has something to do with that reason?"

Bri looked thoughtful, "so what are we supposed to do about that? Even if you're right, she won't tell us. Cassie won't even tell me the real reason she isn't sleeping she isn't about to tell me why she disappeared."

Will deflated a little, it was true. "Okay then… I suppose going to Harry is our best bet."

Bri nodded her agreement and the two of them stood up and headed for the Gryffindor table.

"Hi," said Harry shyly when they sat next to him.

"Hey Har," said Will with his usual charming smile.

Bri rolled her eyes at her brother, but turned to Harry. "Have you talked to Cassie lately?"

Harry shook his head looking a little worried. "I actually haven't talked to her in about a week."

"Has something been going on at home?" Will asked.

Harry shook his head "Nothing that I know of, I was thinking it was just the stress of school," he said uncertainly.

Both Bri and Will shrugged.

"Well, one thing's for sure, if she keeps worrying like this she's going to make herself sick," said Will.

* * *

When Cassie left the Great Hall she continued walking strait out of Hogwarts. The Fall air was cool and the leaves were already starting to change color.

She made her way down the sloping hill and headed strait towards the forest. She knew that it was forbidden (hence the name), but she didn't care. She kept walking until she found that she couldn't see the Hogwarts anymore and then sat down with her back resting against a tree.

She didn't mean to snap at Bri, she just didn't want to talk about it. She didn't like people pressuring her for answers, although she supposed Bri was just trying to be a good friend. In the comfort of the forest, Cassie broke down and cried. She was surprised when she found herself wishing Charlie was with her. She figured maybe she'd go see him later.

She sat there for what felt like hours before she found herself growing tired. She figured maybe she would feel better after she slept. With that last thought she slipped into blissful unconsciousness, slumped against the tree.

* * *

Bri was worried, more so than she had been all week. Cassie hadn't gone to any of her afternoon classes and she didn't go to dinner. Bri left dinner early, hoping to catch her in the dorm. She was actually hoping that Cassie had finally fallen asleep. But when she got to the dorm, she found that Cassie's bed was empty, as was the bathroom, dorm, and common room. When she couldn't find Cassie anywhere she ran down the stairs and headed back towards the Great Hall.

"Will!" she hissed walking next to him, "Cassie's gone."

Will stopped the flirting he'd been doing with a pretty blonde Slytherin in the year below them and looked at his sister.

"Excuse me a minute," he said with a charming smile and wink before following his sister out of the Great Hall. "What do you mean she's gone?"

"I mean she hasn't been in any class or dinner and she's not in the common room or dorm."

"Are you sure? Maybe she's in the restroom?"

"I've looked Will! I can't find her anywhere."

Will paused thinking, "Alright, lets go tell Professor Snape."

Bri wrinkled her nose, "Cassie doesn't like Snape and he doesn't like her."

"No," Will agreed, "but he's the head of house and we're supposed to go to him if someone's in trouble.

The two of them went back into the Great Hall and made their way up to the head table.

"Professor, can we speak with you privately," Will asked Snape.

Snape nodded and followed them into chambers on the side.

"We can't find Cassie," Will blurted out when they were alone.

"What do you mean?" asked Snape.

"We mean that she's been gone since lunch."

"Well are you certain she's not strolling around the castle somewhere? She is a Potter and they do tend to act as though they own the place."

"Professor Cassie hasn't been doing well all week and now we can't find her… we're worried," said Bri pleadingly.

"Miss Wirth I ensure you the oldest Potter is fine. She will probably show up sometime after curfew, just like her insolent little brother."

"But professor-"

Bri was cut off by Will grabbing her arm. "We'll keep looking professor," said Will.

"Very well," Snape said and headed out of the chambers.

"What the hell William?" asked Bri angrily. "We know she's not strolling around the castle."

"I know Brianna," he said mockingly. "We did what we were supposed to do, now we wait outside of the Great Hall for another professor to come out." He said dragging his sister out of the chambers.

They stood outside the Great Hall; Will was relaxing against the wall, while Bri was looking anxious. They watched a few kids leave the Great Hall chatting happily amongst themselves, grateful that it was the weekend. Eventually the doors opened again and Professor McGonagall walked out, the two of them jumped forward to intercept her.

"What is the meaning of this Mr. Wirth? Miss Wirth?"

"Professor – " Will began only to be interrupted by his sister.

"Cassie's gone," she said abruptly. "We talked to Professor Snape but he won't do anything, but she's missed all her afternoon classes and dinner and she's been off all week."

McGonagall paused and looked at both of them, scrutinizing. "All right, tell me what's been happening."

They both filled her in on what had seen of Cassie during the last week and by the end McGonagall did look concerned.

"We'll go speak with the headmaster and the professors will go search for her. Follow me," she said and led them back into the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was mostly empty and most of the staff had already left. Currently Dumbledore was having a quiet discussion with Professor Weasley.

"Albus, it appears we have a situation with Miss Potter," said McGonagall when they reached Dumbledore.

Charlie's head jerked up quickly, looking worried.

"What seems to be the problem?" he asked calmly.

"She appears to be missing."

Dumbledore looked thoughtful, but Bri noticed that his eyes dimmed slightly.

"Very well," said Dumbledore. "I will send word to the Professors and have them search for her. Mr. Weasley, will you be so kind as to call back Professor Hudson. I believe that he has already left for the weekend."

Charlie nodded and walked briskly out of the hall.

"As for you two, if you could check in Slytherin tower one more time, that would be appreciated."

The two of them nodded and headed back towards the dungeons.

* * *

Charlie walked quickly back to his living quarters. He had been worried about Cassie. After the prank she had been coming over a lot, but within the last week she stopped. He only ever saw her during class, afterwards he would try to talk to her, but she would make up an excuse to leave. At first he though maybe she didn't like him anymore, but then he saw the dark purple circles under her eyes and noticed how withdrawn she seemed. Eventually she stopped coming to meals.

When he reached his fireplace he flooed over to Potter Manor and stumbled out of the fireplace into the Potter's living room.

"Charlie!" came a little squeal; he looked over and saw Emma sitting on the floor, coloring.

"Hi Em," he said with a tense smile. "Is your daddy here?"

"Mmhm," she said and stood up, leading him into the dining room.

When Charlie entered the dining room he found that all of the adults were gathered there, all laughing about a story James was sharing. They looked up when the door opened.

"Charlie," said Lily with a bright smile. "We weren't expecting you. How has teaching been?"

Charlie blinked at her a few times and shook his head. "Fine…" he said shortly, turning to James.

"We need you back at Hogwarts," he said, looking worried.

"What's going on?" he asked standing up.

"Um…" he started hesitantly. "A student has gone missing."

"What? Who?" asked James grabbing his traveling cloak from chair and putting it on.

"Um..." Charlie hesitated, fidgeting nervously. He didn't want to get the whole family nervous and storming into Hogwarts.

"Charlie who is it?" asked Lily with a knowing look in her eye.

"Cassie," he said quietly. "We can't find Cassie."

"What!?" shouted Lily, Sirius, and Remus jumping to their feet.

"What do you mean they can't find Cassie?" asked Remus taking a step towards Charlie.

Charlie shook his head "Bri and Will went to McGonagall and said she went missing after lunch. She skipped all her afternoon classes and didn't show up at dinner, at first Bri just though she was skipping and having a bad day, but when she went up to the dorm she wasn't anywhere to be found."

The entire family was heading towards the fireplace when Charlie stopped them.

"Look, I know your all worried, but you can't just storm Hogwarts." He said standing in front of the fireplace. "I was supposed to come back here for Mr. Potter, that's it."

"She's my niece, I should be there! I should help," insisted Remus.

"They don't even know that you live here," said Charlie. "We don't even know if this is a big deal, maybe she just fell asleep in the room of requirement," said Charlie although he didn't sound like he believed the words he was saying.

"Moony," said James, "she's my daughter and I will find her. I won't let her go again," he said grasping Remus on the shoulder.

Remus nodded reluctantly and Charlie flooed back to Hogwarts. James went to follow, but Remus stopped him.

"James," he said, "Cassie loves the outdoors. When she's stressed she likes running in the forest or along the beach," he said.

James nodded and flooed back to Hogwarts where both Charlie and Dumbledore were waiting for him.

"The professors have combed the castle and we haven't found her, we're extending our search to the grounds," said Dumbledore without the usual twinkle in his eye.

James was shaking, but nodded and headed for the door, with Charlie following close behind him.

"We'll check the forest," said James. "If she ran off, that's where she'd go."

Charlie nodded and the two of them headed in that direction.

* * *

She opened her eyes slowly, letting her eyes adjust to the bright light. She was lying on the ground, next to a tree. She hadn't meant to fall asleep she was just so tired. She sat up slowly and looked around confused. The forest was completely quiet and the light was shining through the trees, she could only assume it was the sunset. What really confused her was that she wasn't wearing her robes anymore. She was wearing a full length, slim fit, white dress that was made of silk. Her hair was in curls spreading down her back and despite lying on the ground, she didn't have a speck of dirt on her.

She stood up and looked around when she saw an elegant stag staring at her. At first she thought of her father, but reminded herself that her father was a brown color and this stag was jet black. She walked towards it, although she knew this animal could hurt her. When she was only a few feet away she reached out her hand and the stag slowly approached her, bending its head so her hand touched the top. Cassie patted it lovingly.

"You're gorgeous," she whispered, but was taken aback by the way her voice echoed around the forest.

Cassie heard a twig snap and before she could react the stag had bolted away, heading in the opposite direction.

"No, wait!" Cassie yelled reaching towards it.

"It'll be back," came a voice from behind her. She spun around quickly and came face to face with a very beautiful woman who appeared to be only a few years older than her. She had an elegant face with strait black hair that went to her mid-back. She had deep blue eyes and rosy cheeks. She was wearing a dress exactly like Cassie's, except it was blue.

"It'll be there, whenever you're in need of it," she continued when Cassie didn't say anything.

"Who are you?" Cassie asked hesitantly.

"Rowena," she said simply.

"Where are we?"

"The forbidden forest of course, same place you fell asleep."

"Am I dreaming then?"

"Yes I suppose you could say that, although there is far too much reality for it to be entirely a dream," said Rowena with a small smile.

Cassie nodded and shuffled her feet awkwardly.

"Sometimes the people with the greatest tragedies turn out to be the greatest people," Said Rowena. "I know about you Cassandra, I know what you went through. I know what they called you and I know what they wanted you to be."

"What am I doing here?" Cassie asked, not wanting to talk about her life as a tragedy.

Rowena smiled "right down to it then? There are a handful of us throughout history that have been chosen for greatness."

"I haven't been chosen for greatness," Cassie said plainly.

"No?" said Rowena with a raised eyebrow. "You have a unique gift though. The ability to communicate with animals, I won't offend you by saying control, although you have that ability as well," she said.

Cassie shrugged, "Some people have strange gifts like that."

Rowena laughed, "yes, exactly. I for one was gifted with intelligence and wisdom. Merlin had a gift of language and writing. A man named Nicholas Flamel has a gift of fire and metalworking. There's a man only twenty years older than you named Ged who has a gift with the waters. "

"I don't understand," said Cassie.

"You were given the gift for a purpose Cassandra."

"Why?" she asked.

Rowena shook her head, "You'll know it in time young one. I'm not here to tell you the purpose, but to warn you that the road ahead won't be easy. Life is full of pain and suffering, some of us must suffer more than others. Stay close to the ones you love, you'll need them."

Cassie nodded.

"Well young one, I do believe several people are desperate to see you wake up. I wanted to meet you, I know for sure that we will meet again." She said and she turned to walk away, in the same direction that the stag went.

* * *

Cassie could hear voices around her, but felt incredibly warm in a nice soft bed, therefore didn't want to open her eyes.

"Cassie?" she heard a voice that she knew belonged to her father. "Are you awake?"

Cassie blearily opened her eyes and realized that she was in the hospital wing. She looked around and found that both her father and Harry were sitting next to her.

"What happened?" She asked. She could remember being upset at lunch and going into the forest, but she didn't remember what happened afterwards. Almost immediately her dream came rushing back to her and she sat up quickly looking around as though expecting to see the woman or the stag.

"You went out into the forest. You were out there for hours before we found you," said James, looking concerned and helping adjust her pillows behind her so she could sit up.

"Oh," said Cassie quietly, eyes downcast. "I think I accidently fell asleep."

"Cass," James started, reaching out a hand to run through her red hair, he pulled back abruptly when she flinched at the touch. "What's going on?" he asked quietly.

"Nothing, I'm fine," she said quickly.

"No you're not," he responded without hesitation. "You've been distant all week, you haven't been going to meals, and it looks like you've hardly been sleeping."

Cassie shrugged. "Honestly, it's not big deal," she said.

"Of course it's a big deal Cass, we found you in the forest freezing, if you had been out there all night you could have died. An animal could have found you and eaten you, so we need to talk about whatever it is that's bothering you," James insisted.

"Seriously dad, it's nothing," Cassie said annoyed.

"Did somebody say something? Or do something?" he pushed.

"No dad." Cassie said with a raised voice.

"Dad, can I talk to Cassie alone?" Harry inserted before his dad pushed her anymore.

James hesitated, but after a few minutes he nodded and walked past the privacy curtain.

"He means well," Harry said from his seat by his sister's bed. "He's just worried. He was at home when Charlie flooed him and told him they couldn't find you."

"Charlie?"

Harry smiled knowingly and nodded. "He was there when Professor McGonagall told Professor Dumbledore. He was here for a while before dad sent him away. He didn't want to but figured it would look suspicious if he argued."

Cassie smiled at her younger brother, realizing that he knew a lot more than she had thought.

"Would you rather talk to him?" Harry asked.

"Who?" asked Cassie.

"Charlie, would you rather tell Charlie what's been going on?"

Cassie paused. She would like to see Charlie; she had really wanted his comfort earlier. "Won't dad be even more suspicious if I ask for him?"

"Leave it to me," Harry said with a large smile. He stood up and hugged his sister before leaving.

She sat back against the headboard of her bed thinking about the strange dream she had. It had felt so real, like she had really spoken with Rowena. She wondered if it had any meaning. Was it really just a strange dream her mind had concocted? Or was someone actually trying to speak with her?

She didn't have very long to contemplate the dream, because within five minutes Charlie was stepping behind the screen and sitting beside her bed.

Cassie smiled at him, "how on earth did Harry get you up here without my father being suspicious?"

Charlie snorted "he just said that you wanted to be alone, when your dad argued Harry went and got Madame Pomfrey to kick him out. They passed me on their way to the kitchen, I believe, and Harry gave me a discrete nod in the direction of the infirmary," he said with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

Cassie laughed softly. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "You're the one in the hospital wing and you're asking me if I'm okay?" He said.

Cassie shrugged, but smiled. "You seem upset," she said.

Charlie sighed, "we couldn't find you anywhere. I was worried. Then when we found you in the forest you were just lying there completely still and well…. It was terrifying," he said quietly.

"I'm sorry," Cassie said. "I didn't mean to worry anyone, I just wanted to leave the castle and I guess I was really tired…"

"It's okay Cassie," he said grabbing her hand and intertwining their fingers. "So do you want to tell me what's been bothering you?" he asked.

Cassie shook her head, starting to deny that anything was bothering her.

"Don't lie Cass. We've all seen how distant you've become."

Cassie sighed and looked down at their clasped hands. "I just miss home," she said quietly.

Charlie frowned, "That's easily fixable Cassie. We could have it arranged with Dumbledore for you to go home with your dad one weekend."

Cassie shook her head, "Not that home."

Charlie's eyes widened with realization. "Florence," he said, it wasn't a question.

Cassie nodded. "My life there was so simple, ya know?" she said sadly. "I miss my friends and my school and… well, everything. I especially miss Remus. I talk to him two or three times a week, but it isn't the same."

Charlie squeezed her hand, "you're homesick Cassie, it's completely understandable. We can still do something about it, you might not be able to go all the way to Florence, but you could still see Remus. I'm sure if you told him this he would talk to you every night or you could make arrangements to see him every weekend."

Cassie shook her head "He doesn't need to worry about me. He's got his wife to think about and I don't want to be selfish."

"Cassie, Remus is already worried about you. When I mentioned we couldn't find you he was ready to tear apart Hogwarts brick by brick. Wife or no wife, nothing's changed for him."

Cassie just shrugged in response.

"Is that why you haven't been sleeping? Or eating? Because your homesick?" he asked.

Cassie shook her head, "I've been having nightmares… For the first couple years we lived in Florence, I would have them all the time, but it lessened. For whatever reason the past couple weeks I've been having them again."

"We could probably talk to Madame Pomfrey about giving you a dreamless sleep potion," he suggested.

Cassie shrugged again, not making eye contact.

Charlie reached out with his free hand and tilted her chin up to look at him. "You need to take care of yourself, love. If you're hurting, you need to tell someone, if you want something, you need to tell someone. You deserve to be happy and there are many people in your life who want to make you happy, me included."

Tears started falling from Cassie's eyes as she looked into Charlie's. He untangled their hands and pulled her into a hug, which she melted into gratefully. After a few minutes Charlie pulled back and wiped the remaining tears from Cassie's eyes.

Cupping her face in his hands, he leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her lips. Cassie's eyes drifted shut at the touch and opened when he pulled back a couple of seconds later. Cassie blushed, but smiled brightly. She looked at him to see him smiling just as much.

"You know," Cassie said, smirking. "For wanting to wait until I graduate, you sure are making a lot of moves."

Charlie laughed and shook his head. "Yeah, I've never been very patient," he said. "Besides, for the last couple of weeks I've been thinking that waiting doesn't make much sense. Then seeing you in the forest, well… time is precious, we never know when it'll be up."

"You have a good point," she said. "So what does this mean?"

"Well, I'm still your professor, but I want to be with you." He said, looking hesitant. "We can't really go on dates or anything while we're here…"

"So, we date and keep it a secret," she said with understanding.

Charlie smiled, "are you sure you want this? I mean it'd be a lot easier if you dated someone who you could be public with…" he trailed off and Cassie could tell that wasn't really what he wanted.

"Charlie, I want to be with you and only you," she said honestly. "And I don't want you to get into trouble, so I'm okay with keeping it a secret. It's less than a year, I can wait that long."

Charlie smiled brightly and leaned forward, capturing her lips in another kiss, this one more passionate than the last. It was slow and sweet, their lips moving in sync. They pulled back when air became a necessity and Charlie rested his forehead on Cassie's.

"I've been worried about you," said Charlie, still leaning against Cassie. "Will you come to me next time?"

Cassie nodded and smiled softly.

He kissed her on the nose and pulled back.

Cassie frowned looking confused. "Wait," she said. "I didn't think Madame Pomfrey knew that Niall Hudson was James Potter, wouldn't she be curious if Professor Hudson wasn't willing to leave?"

Charlie laughed slightly, "He was freaking out when he carried you in here, acting much more like a worried father than a professor. When she first tried to get him to leave with the other professors, he refused and blurted out that he was your father. After that Dumbledore explained it to her, she was very surprised."

Cassie laughed, "I wish I could have seen her face," she said shaking her head. She was beginning to feel tired again, just being in Charlie's presence was making her feel warm and comfortable.

"Why don't you get some more sleep? You could use it," he said while running his hand through her hair.

Cassie nodded and laid back down. He kissed her on the forehead and whispered 'goodnight,' leaving her to her dreams.


	20. Talking It Out

CHAPTER TWENTY

Talking it Out

It was early Saturday morning and Cassie was sitting at the edge of one of the beds in the hospital wing.

"You're sure you're okay?" asked James for the umpteenth time that morning.

"Dad, I'm fine. Honestly," she insisted.

"Maybe we should have Madame Pomfrey look you over one last time."

Cassie rolled her eyes and stood up, heading towards the infirmary doors. "She's already cleared me and she's a busy lady, so let's go."

James walked with her to the doors and when they were in the hall he turned to her "well you are at least to come to my room for a while," in insisted.

"Okay," Cassie said and the two of them headed in that direction. Thankfully once they reached his living quarters there wasn't anyone around to see the two of them go in.

When they walked into his living room Cassie smiled brightly seeing Remus, Sirius and Lily there, although she was most excited to see Remus. She ran at him and through her arms around his neck and he swung her around in a circle.

"I've missed you cub," he said quietly.

"I've missed you too Moony."

He set her back on the ground and kissed her forehead. Her mother then pulled her into a warm embrace.

"When Charlie told us you disappeared we were really worried. How are you doing?" she asked staring intently into Cassie's eyes.

"I'm okay," said Cassie honestly. "I just had a bad week and then I accidently fell asleep."

"In the forbidden forest?" asked Sirius, chuckling softly. "Who just happens to fall asleep in the forbidden forest?"

Cassie mock glared "I like the forest, thank you very much," she said before her godfather pulled her into a hug as well.

"But," said James, "She's not going into the forest again, are you dear?"

"No dad," said Cassie, dejectedly.

"Where are the kids? And Harry?" asked Cassie, looking around the room as if expecting to see children hiding under the furniture.

"Harry is at Quidditch practice and the kids are at home with your Aunt Natalie," said James.

Cassie nodded, slightly hurt that her aunt didn't come as well.

"So, food?" Said Sirius rubbing his hands together.

The others laughed and headed into the kitchen where Lily and Remus made pancakes.

"So Cassie, did you decide if you wanted to try out for Quidditch?" asked Sirius once he got his food.

Cassie shook her head, "no. I thought about it and my friend, Will, really wanted me to, but with the transition and everything I decided to just focus on school."

"I think that's smart," said Lily, placing pancakes in front of Cassie. "So this Will person, you've mentioned him before in your letters, tell us about him," she said smiling.

Cassie laughed at both James' and Sirius' identical frowns.

"Don't worry he's just a friend," she said patting each of their hands with hers. "He's a good guy, Quidditch captain, we have all of our classes together. He actually reminds me of Uncle Paddy," she said, looking at her godfather with a smirk. "Remus told me a lot of stories about what you were like in school and he matches the description very well."

Sirius' frown increased, "I don't know if I'm comfortable with you being his friend."

"Just think," Cassie continued as though she didn't hear him. "You are a very protective man, so if Will and I get married and have kids, then he will probably be very protective of our children and that's a good thing," she said with a straight face.

Sirius spluttered, "There is no marrying for men like me. He doesn't deserve you!" he insisted and Cassie, Lily, and Remus burst out laughing.

"So Cassie," started Lily, hesitating slightly. "Do you remember anyone here from when you were younger? You know before you… were kidnapped," she said, falling over her words.

Cassie smiled kindly; she knew it couldn't be easy for either of her parents to bring it up. "I actually did remember Professor McGonagall, but other than her and the people I met over the summer, no."

"You remember McGonagall? You wouldn't have seen her since you were about four." Lily said, surprised.

Cassie shrugged. "Oh," she said looking up "I forgot about Danny," she said turning to Remus. "Do you remember Danny, from Lestrange Manor?" She asked.

Remus paused, thinking. "You mean that boy that you met on the full moons?" he asked quietly.

Cassie nodded, "I saw him on my second day here. He's head boy apparently, changed his name to Michael Anderson."

"Wait," interrupted James, "what do you mean you met Anderson in Lestrange Manor?" he asked.

Cassie hesitated slightly. "On full moons, they wouldn't let me stay with Moony," she said, speaking slowly. "They put me into a different cell and there was a boy in the cell with me, named Danny."

"I remember him," said Sirius. "Another auror found him after the explosion. He wasn't in the dungeon though, he was in one of the upstairs rooms," he said frowning.

Cassie shrugged, "I was taken into some of the upstairs rooms at times. He was my first, and only, friend there."

The others frowned, remembering all the pain that she must have gone through.

"He has a younger sister who's in Gryffindor. Her name's Kara and I believe that he was adopted," said James.

Cassie nodded, "He told me that his family died before he was kidnapped."

The others nodded, but didn't say anything. Everyone finished their meals in an awkward silence.

"So Cassie, I thought since I have the day free maybe you'd want to go for a walk?" said Remus. Cassie knew that he was going to question her, but she had been longing to see him in person and tell him everything going on with her, so she nodded her agreement and the two of them stood up saying goodbye to the others, before walking out of the portrait hole.

They walked through the castle and out onto the grounds before Remus started talking. "What happened yesterday?" he asked.

Cassie wavered, "I honestly just fell asleep in the forest, but I haven't exactly been sleeping well."

"Why not?" he asked and Cassie could hear the concern in his voice.

"Nightmares," she said quietly.

Remus sighed, "Do you know why they've started again?"

Cassie shook her head, "I have no idea," she said honestly.

Remus nodded, "and I'm assuming you put a silencing charm over yourself?"

"Yep," said Cassie, popping the 'p.'

"Cassie, they're worse if you don't have someone wake you up. You know that," he said.

"I know, but I live with Slytherins and the only one who is my friend is Bri. I don't want to wake up the others and have the entire school talking about how I wake up screaming every night."

"I suppose you're right," he said. "We'll have to think of something else."

They kept walking until they reached the Black lake. "Has anything else been bothering you?" he asked as he sat on the grass.

Cassie sat beside him, pulling up her knees to her chest, looking across the water. "I miss home," she said quietly.

"We could arrange it with Dumbledore for you to come home on some weekends," he suggested.

Cassie shook her head, "Potter Manor isn't home," she said quietly, almost scared to say it out loud.

Remus stared at her for a while before he said anything. "It isn't, is it?"

Cassie looked at him surprised. She had expected him to say something about how she'll get used to it eventually.

He smiled kindly at her, but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "I miss it too, the people, the ocean, our home."

"I feel bad, I mean mum and dad are here and my siblings, but it doesn't feel like home."

"I feel the same." He said shifting his gaze to the lake. "I love spending time with your parents, and Sirius. I didn't really realize how much I missed them until I saw them again, but I'd be perfectly content living in Florence and visiting them."

"Me too," said Cassie. "I don't want to hurt them though."

"Me neither," he said with a dry laugh. "That's why we stick out for the rest of the year. If nothing changes, then we talk to them about it."

"What about Aunt Natalie? Aren't you happy to be back with her? To be building a life with her?"

Remus looked intently at Cassie, "we're different than we were when we got married. We're trying to work it out, but we're so different."

Cassie frowned, "so what'll happen then?"

Remus smiled and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. "I stick it out for the rest of the year, and if nothing changes, I'll talk to her about it."

"I'm sorry," she said sadly.

Remus shrugged, "that's life. It's not meant to be easy. Anyways, about this Will fellow, you're sure there isn't anything between you?" he asked, laughing.

Cassie blushed "there is nothing between us! He's a huge flirt and we get along, but I'm kind of with someone else," she said, but quickly clasped her hand over her mouth.

Remus raised an eyebrow "You've never mentioned a boyfriend in any of our conversations."

Cassie looked away guiltily.

"Cassie?"

"Well it's kind of a recent thing," she mumbled, not making eye contact.

"How recent?"

"Technically last night. I mean we've kind of been flirting since school started, but he kissed me last night." She said, blushing even more.

"He kissed you?" Remus said, almost growled. "Who is it?"

"Please don't tell me that dad and Sirius have been rubbing off on you," she said semi-jokingly.

Remus mock glared. "I've always been worried about who dates you and likes you, I'm just more understanding about it than those two, like your mother."

Cassie smiled and looked back at the lake.

"So are you going to tell me who it is?"

Cassie mumbled incoherently, but with Remus' enhanced hearing he was able to understand.

"Charlie? As in Charlie Weasley?"

Cassie nodded, not making eye contact.

Remus grimaced, "Cass, he's your professor."

"I know, but we were friends before he became my professor and he's only teaching for the year," she said defensively.

"I understand, but he's still your professor. He could go to prison for this."

"Which is why we decided to keep it a secret," she said finally making eye contact. "Do you disapprove?"

Remus looked resigned, "no, not with the man, but the situation." Cassie looked at him confused, so he expounded.

"He's a good man, the few times we've talked him I've really liked him. However, I wish he would have waited until he wasn't your professor and I wish he talked to me or your father first," he said.

Cassie nodded she could understand that. "You won't say anything though?"

Remus stared at Cassie with a benign expression. "I have to tell your father, he deserves to know."

"Moony you can't," she said hurriedly. "He'll make sure that Charlie is fired and shipped off to Azkaban."

Remus sighed, knowing it was true. "He's my best friend, things are already difficult with both of us parenting you. Your mum deserves to know as well."

Cassie shook her head frantically. "They can't know Moony! I'm not ready for them to know, besides I'm almost seventeen and I can decide for myself."

"Alright," said Remus resigned. "I'll keep your secret for now, but you will need to tell them."

Cassie nodded, "I will," she said, although she didn't intend to tell them anytime soon.

"And you'll have to be prepared for whatever punishment they decide to dish out," he said. "I can't and won't protect you from that."

Cassie nodded and hugged her uncle. "I've missed you," she said quietly.

"I've missed you too," he said, kissing her softly on the forehead.

* * *

Remus and Cassie spent the rest of the morning walking around the grounds of Hogwarts. Cassie told Remus about all of her friends and her classes, while Remus told her about his job as a substitute. He also shared different stories of his time at Hogwarts with her, whenever something sparked his memory.

It was around lunchtime when the two of them made their way back into the castle. Remus split off with Cassie at the Great Hall, giving her a tight hug and telling her he'd see her soon.

He was making his way back to James' living quarters when someone calling out to him stopped him. He turned around and came face to face with Charlie.

"Mr. Lupin," he said politely. "I was hoping that I could have a word with you? Um… privately."

Remus nodded, unsure of what this was about and followed Charlie into an unused classroom. He watched Charlie silence and lock the door, before turning towards him, looking nervous.

"What's going on Charlie?"

"Um…" he began nervously. "You see, I wanted to talk to you about something that I don't feel like I can go to Mr. Potter about, but you seem more understanding and I know that Cassie see's you as a second father, so it's okay to go to you… and –"

"You're rambling Charlie," Remus said with a laugh.

"Oh sorry," said Charlie blushing. "Well, okay I'm just going to say it," he said looking at Remus who was nodding encouragingly.

"I like Cassie," he said quickly. "A lot, I like her a lot and I know I'm her professor, but I'd like to date her."

"Did she ask you to tell me this?"

Charlie looked confused and shook his head. "No, I wanted your permission. I know we'd have to hide it, but I wanted at least one of her parents to know about it."

Remus smiled, "Cassie already told me about last night. I told her earlier that I wished that you had talked to me or James, so I must say I respect you a lot more now that you have."

Charlie sighed in relief, "So, do I have your blessing?"

"Yes," said Remus. "Although, you will still need James' and Lily's blessings. Cassie isn't ready for them to know, but the sooner you talk to them the more likely they are to not hate you after they find out."

Charlie grimaced, "Mr. Potter is really protective."

Remus snorted and nodded, "as are Sirius, Lily, and myself if you hurt her. Ultimately we want her happiness. Cassie has suffered enough for a lifetime."

"I won't ever hurt her," he said definitively.

Remus studied him for a moment before nodding, "I know you won't."

"Thank you," Charlie said gratefully.

Remus nodded and headed towards the door, "Charlie keep in mind that if you do hurt her, I will purposefully place myself near you on the full moon."

Charlie looked at him questioningly.

"Didn't you know?" Remus asked with a smirk. "I'm a werewolf," he said and left a gaping Charlie to stare after him.

* * *

Cassie entered the Great Hall and made her way over to the Slytherin table. Thankfully, nobody but the Professor's were aware that she had gone missing the previous day, so there was no staring. She spotted Bri and Will sitting with Cole, Bri had a book in front of her and Will and Cole were talking about something animatedly. She prepared her apology and made her way over to them.

Plopping herself in the seat next to Bri she said, "I'm sorry," quickly once Bri looked up at her.

Bri closed her book and turned in her seat so she was facing Cassie as well. "Are you okay?" she asked quietly, Cassie could see the worry in her eyes.

"I'm fine, much better than I was."

Bri nodded and smiled. Cassie noticed that both Will and Cole had stopped their discussion and were paying attention to her.

"What happened?" Bri asked.

Cassie glanced at Cole and shook her head. She didn't trust him at all.

Will stood up and walked around the table, dragging both Cassie and Bri to standing positions. "We'll see you later Cole," he said as he proceeded to drag the two girls out of the hall, missing the glare Cole directed at them.

They were walking down an empty hall when Will repeated Bri's question.

"It's just been a bad week and I haven't been sleeping, so after lunch yesterday, I went into the forest and accidently fell asleep," she said quickly.

Will snorted, "You fell asleep in the forbidden forest? Who falls asleep in the forbidden forest?" he asked.

Cassie glared "funny thing, my godfather asked me the same thing."

"You went into the forest? It's really dangerous in there! There are acromantula's and centaurs and even werewolves!" Exclaimed Bri worriedly.

"Well, there are only werewolves on the full moon Brianna and spiders are hardly scary. Centaurs are part human, not very scary either," said Will sarcastically.

Bri glared at him.

"Guys, it's fine. I was already chewed out and it's over with," said Cassie putting up her hands to stop their bickering.

"Okay, then what happened?" asked Bri.

Cassie shrugged "Professor's Weasley and Hudson found me and I woke up in the hospital wing."

"So what had you so upset?"

"I've just been homesick. I miss my home, my friends, my uncle."

Bri nudged her, "That's understandable. Everyone gets homesick at some point, especially during their first year away," she said with understanding.

"Is it your home in America that you miss?" asked Will

Cassie nodded, "it was a sudden change, only four months ago I was planning on finishing high school and going to college with my friends. Now I'm at a school nearly five thousand miles away, studying witchcraft," she laughed bitterly.

"Well," started Will looking off into the distance, "you know what they say 'since we cannot change reality, let us change the eyes which see reality."

Bri and Cassie paused their walking and stared at him with an amused expression before laughing and shaking their heads.

"Okay Dumbledore," said Bri dryly.

"That was very deep," said Cassie, trying to hide her smile.

"Laugh all you want. I'll have you know I'm great with words, just like Dumbledore," He said glaring at his sister.

"Are you Cassandra?"

Cassie looked up and came face to face with a small girl with long blonde hair, who looked like she was a second year. Cassie nodded and smiled kindly.

"Professor Dumbledore asked me to give this to you," she said holding out a rolled up piece of parchment.

"Oh, thank you," Said Cassie taking the paper from her and watching her run off in the opposite direction, catching up with her friends.

"What on earth could Dumbledore want?" asked Will curiously.

"If you let me read the note, I might be able to tell you." Cassie said with an amused glare.

 _Miss Potter,_

 _If it suits your schedule, could you please meet with me this evening at 7:00pm? I have several things I wish to discuss with you._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Professor Dumbledore_

"Well?" asked Will.

Cassie rolled back up the parchment, "I said I _might_ tell you what it says, but I've decided not to," she said with a smirk.

Bri giggled and Will rolled his eyes.

"He wants to meet with me tonight," she said with a shrug.

"It's probably about what happened last night," suggested Bri.

Cassie shrugged again, "I suppose I'll find out… I should probably go do some homework since I missed classes yesterday," she said with a slight grimace.

"I'll go with, I'd like to get mine done as well," said Bri, far too excitedly.

Will shook his head, "Yeah I'll meet up with you both later." With a cocky grin he turned and followed a group of girls that had just walked passed.

Bri scoffed and the two of them headed back towards the Slytherin common room.

* * *

It was 7:00 sharp when Cassie knocked on the door to Dumbledore's office. She heard a calm 'enter' and opened the door to see Professor Dumbledore sitting behind his desk looking over some papers. He smiled brightly when he saw her and put the papers away gesturing for her to sit in the chair across from him.

She sat down, nervously, and she continued looking around his office, amazed by all of the small trinkets and gadgets he seemed to have, most of which she didn't recognize.

"Cassandra, I'm sure you are wondering why I asked you here tonight," at Cassie's small nod he continued. "There are a couple of things I wish to discuss, but first I'd like to ask how your recovery has gone from last night?"

"It's been fine Professor," she said softly. "I'm all better, all I needed was sleep and warmth and you can bet Madame Pomfrey took care of that."

Dumbledore chuckled, "Yes I'm sure she did. Well, I am glad to hear that you are doing well. I would however, like to remind you that the forest is strictly off limits, there are dangers in there, many of which I'm not even aware of.

"Now that we have that out of the way, a short while ago we discussed private lessons, are you still interested?"

Cassie perked up at the question, "Yes professor," she said with a grin.

"Excellent. Now you must understand that the reason we are offering you these lessons is because we do not believe the standard curriculum will help you reach your full potential. You were born much more powerful than most; therefore your training will need to be different. We have also chosen to do this because of the struggles you have already faced in your life. I do not believe Lord Voldemort is gone, if he is to someday return it will be best to have you and your family as trained as possible, since your brother was his last target. That being said, in a year or two I would also like to train young Harry."

Dumbldore waited until Cassie nodded her understanding before he continued. "Now I have talked with several different professors and they have agreed to tutor you privately -"

"Several Professor? It won't just be you?" Cassie asked.

"Ah, I see I forgot to mention that," said Dumbledore with twinkling eyes. "You see I will be teaching you some very advanced magic, however other professors are experts in their fields and I believe it will benefit you more to have them teach you."

Cassie nodded and smiled. She found the idea of extra training exciting and it was true that she didn't feel particularly challenged in her classes, except for potions.

"Professor McGonagall and your father will be working with you on transfiguration. I believe your father would like to teach you how to become an animagus."

Cassie smiled brightly at that, she had been longing to learn how to be an animagus, but Remus had never learned and therefore didn't feel comfortable training her.

"Professor Flitwick has agreed to train you more on charms and your father and I will be working with you on dueling. I will be showing you other forms of advanced magic and lastly Professor Weasley will be working with you on your skills with magical creatures."

Cassie was surprised to hear that, especially since she was in Care of Magical Creatures and felt like she was genuinely learning stuff.

Dumbledore seemed to realize what she was thinking and said, "He won't be so much teaching you _about_ magical creatures, but will be working with you to discover your talents with them. You have already shown to have a unique connection and he will be with you in discovering more about it, I realize you could do it alone, but it will be safer for you to have someone with you," he said and Cassie could see the knowing look in his eyes.

Cassie nodded "That sounds great professor."

"Excellent," said Dumbledore clapping his hands together. "I believe it would be a good idea to meet twice a week in the evenings. How does Mondays and Thursdays sound?" he asked.

"That's fine," Cassie said.

"Very well, I believe Professor McGonagall offered her classroom for the meetings so your lessons will begin this Monday."

"Thank you so much Professor," Cassie said brightly.

"You are very welcome my dear. If there isn't anything else you'd like to discuss, you are free to leave," He said kindly.

Cassie stood up, "There's nothing, thanks again," she said and headed towards the door.

"Cassandra," Dumbledore said when she reached the door. She turned around and looked at him, her hand resting on the doorknob. "Keep an eye on your brother," he said and Cassie noticed his eyes dimmed slightly.

"I will," she said honestly. "Have a good evening Professor," she said as she left the room, closing the door behind her.


	21. Hogsmeade

**AN: Thank you to those of you who have reviewed, favorited, and followed my story. I appreciate all of your support. I'm terribly sorry that my updates have been taking so long. I'm back in school now and graduating college in December, so I've been incredibly busy. However, now that I'm in the swing of things I'm hoping to get a new chapter up every couple of weeks.**

 **Thanks again!**

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Hogsmeade

"Shouldn't you be doing homework?" Asked Charlie, glancing at Cassie who was lying on the couch, her legs in his lap, absorbed in a book.

Cassie lifted the book above her head so she could look at him. "It's only Monday and I did everything that was assigned for tomorrow before I came down," she said cheekily.

They had only been officially dating for 3 days, but they were enjoying every minute of it, well every minute that they could be together without people being suspicious. They knew the relationship would be hard, but they were content with the time they did get to spend together. Tonight, Cassie joined Charlie while he was grading papers; she figured this would be the main way that they would spend time together. She was grateful for an Uncle who was a huge bookworm; since Remus sent her several different fiction books she could read during her free time.

Thankful for the distraction, Cassie checked the clock and saw that it was ten minutes until seven and she needed to get going for her first 'extra' lesson. She wasn't entirely sure what she would be studying tonight, but knew it wouldn't be COMC because Charlie wasn't going to be going with her. She reluctantly sat up and Charlie put down his papers that he was grading and pulled her into his arms. Cassie gave him a tight hug and pulled back, standing up.

"You'll come see me tomorrow?" Charlie asked and Cassie let out a contended sigh at the look in his big blue eyes.

"Of course," she said as he stood up.

Charlie leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on her lips, "I'll see you tomorrow then," he said quietly, walking with her towards the door.

"Tomorrow," she said with a shy smile. He leaned forward and kissed her again. Cassie left Charlie with a goofy grin, one that she knew she was mirroring, and made her way to Professor McGonagall's classroom.

She entered the room and found that both Professor Dumbledore and her father were in there. The desks had been pushed off to the sides of the room so there was an open space in the center, large enough for a duel.

"Welcome Cassandra," said Dumbledore kindly. "I hoped you wouldn't mind, we thought it would just be the three of us today. I'd like to see your abilities as far as dueling and advanced spells go."

Cassie nodded her assent with a large smile. She couldn't deny that she was excited to learn more and to push her magic to the limit.

"I'll have you duel your father first. Anything goes, except wandless magic or dark magic," he said with the usual twinkle in his eye.

Cassie nodded and took her place facing her father, a rather large distance between them. They both bowed to each other and she saw her father smirk before a jet of red light came speeding towards her. She threw up a blocking spell easily and sent a stunning spell back at him.

The spells started out easy, each of them throwing spells that were easily blocked, but after a short while the two of them picked it up. Cassie was having difficulty not using any wandless magic. She hadn't ever realized how much of what she did was actually wandless. She found that one of the best things to do was throw up a shield charm and block everything her dad threw at her. When she saw James falter she took the opportunity and sent spells rapid fire back towards him. He kept up a shield charm for most and dodged others, but Cassie was finally able to catch him off guard and disarm him.

James smiled brightly when he was disarmed, Cassie could see the pride in his eyes. Both of them were breathing heavily and slumped into chairs facing Dumbledore who had been watching them.

"Excellent job Cassandra," said Dumbledore. "It appears that Remus was right when he said that your magic was very advanced." Cassie blushed but smiled at the praise.

"Now that being said, I noticed that you used the shield charm a lot, which is a great form of defense, unfortunately there are many spells that it cannot block. You also seemed rather uncomfortable, is there a reason for that?"

Cassie shrugged, "It was kind of uncomfortable not using wandless magic. I hadn't ever realized how often I used it."

"That's perfectly understandable. I myself find that I use magic much more often than I realize," he said. "Now that the two of you have caught your breath, I'd like you to duel again, but wandlessly."

Cassie looked at him surprised, although she had practiced her wandless ability often; she had never dueled without a wand.

She put her wand on the table and stood up, heading towards the center of the room. "Surely we ought to both be wandless?" she asked her father with a smirk.

James shook his head chuckling, "not a chance princess, we both know I can do very little wandlessly."

Cassie was surprised momentarily, but smiled back at her father. He hadn't called her princess since she was little, but she couldn't deny that she had missed that little pet name.

They dueled again, but this duel was much shorter than the last one. Although Cassie had a much easier time blocking and dodging curses, she wasn't as quick at throwing them. James got the upper hand and was able to stun Cassie after only a few minutes. After she had been re-enervated she took her seat next to Dumbledore again.

"That went much better than I had expected," said Dumbledore kindly. "You're wandless abilities are clearly advanced and I don't believe it'll be hard to improve them to the extent that your wand will no longer be necessary.

"Now, the one thing I've noticed so far is that you don't have as much control over your wandless abilities as you do with your wand. I've also noticed that you are much more powerful wandlessly when you are emotional, whether that is angry or happy. Does that sound right to you?"

Cassie nodded, "Yes professor. I've noticed that when someone threatens someone close to me I have a lot more power _and_ control, but if someone threatens me I seem to have more power, but lose control."

Dumbledore nodded, "that would explain why you were able to shock Mr. Birch when he threatened your uncle, but accidently broke the glass in Madame Malkin's when Mr. Malfoy threatened you. Hopefully with our work you will gain more control in emotional situations."

Cassie nodded; she would like that as well. She hated feeling weak whenever someone threatened her and she couldn't deny that she was worried she'd lose control of her powers if someone ever truly threatened her family.

They spent the remainder lesson with Dumbledore giving her advice about wandless magic and better ways of controlling her emotions. It was decided that the next time the three of them met for dueling, Cassie would only practice dodging, since that was something she wasn't used to. James had also talked to Cassie a little bit about becoming an animagus. He had assigned her to writing a foot long paper about the process of becoming an animagus as the first step.

"Before we go Cassandra, there are a few forms of advanced magic that I would like you to do a little research on," said Dumbledore. "First I would like you to do some homework about elemental magic. Using elemental magic can be the most difficult form of magic and some are more natural at it than others. However, it is always good to know about the various forms of magic, so we will begin there."

Cassie nodded "Professor," she said hesitantly. "I was wondering if you might be able to show me how to become invisible?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and James looked at her with amusement.

"Isn't it true that you have an invisibility cloak? There are no spells for invisibility."

"But rules don't really apply to you, do they professor? Can't you become invisible without a cloak? And I do have an invisibility cloak, but I plan on giving it to Harry in a couple years."

Dumbledore looked at her intently with a small smile on his face. "Yes I suppose in our studies I can try to teach you how to become invisible, there is no spell, but we can try. However, we will save that for later in the year."

Cassie nodded gratefully. After the lesson concluded, Cassie bade goodbye to Dumbledore and her father and headed back towards her common room.

* * *

Over the next couple weeks Cassie enjoyed her extra lessons. She and Dumbledore had discussed the elemental magic of fire and water, although they hadn't practiced it yet. Dueling had consisted of more practicing and having her technique critiqued. She had her first lesson with Professor Flitwick and was excited when he began to show her the patronus charm. They just went over the basics since it was implausible for dementors to come to the class. She had also begun her lessons with Charlie, unfortunately it had been a stormy day outside, so they just stayed inside and Charlie went over the various creatures that he wanted them to work with. Cassie couldn't hold back the laugh when he told her that he'd find a way to get her near a dragon. After all there was absolutely no way that her father would allow that to happen.

They were nearing the end of October and it was the weekend before Halloween that landed everyone above second year in Hogsmeade. Cassie was making her way with Will, Julie, Bri, and Steven down the road to the village. The two guys were caught up in a discussion about Quidditch while the other two were discussing the band 'the Weird Sisters.' Cassie was just content to stand between them and listen to both conversations, while trying to block the wind with her scarf.

When they reached the village Cassie dragged the four of them into the first coffee shop she found, which Will later told her was the _only_ coffee shop in Hogsmeade, unless you counted Madame Puddifoot's, although that place sold various forms of strange tea rather than various forms of coffee. When Cassie entered the shop she immediately made her way up to the front, ordering a salted caramel mocha.

When she stepped back she was brought out of her thoughts by a loud "I told you so!" that came from behind her. She would recognize that voice anywhere, the American accent with a calming tone despite being excited. Cassie whipped around and came face to face with a grinning Jon. Glancing behind him she saw a beaming Erin, sitting calmly at the table and a grinning Laila who bouncing on her feet next to her mother.

"Remus told us that you'd be able to visit the village today and so it would be the best day for visitors," said Jon. "We wanted to surprise you so we knew we'd have to keep an eye out for you, but I told mom and Laila that you'd come to the first coffee shop you saw, they didn't believe me, but I was right." He said, sending a smirk back to his family.

Cassie could feel tears sting her eyes. She couldn't believe that they had actually come all the way to England to see her. Sure, wizarding travel was much easier and quicker than muggle travel, but it still left you feeling drained. Jon's smile softened and he pulled Cassie into a tight hug. Cassie wrapped her arms around his torso and hugged him back just as tight. They stood there for several minutes before a throat clearing caused them to pull back.

"Sorry, I don't mean to interrupt, but Professor McDreamy is chaperoning this visit and he might get jealous, he does seem the sort."

Cassie sent a glare towards Will and took her coffee that he was handing her.

"I'm Will by the way," said Will holding out his hand for Jon to shake "excuse my friend, she is obviously too busy glaring at him to introduce us."

Cassie rolled her eyes and she heard Laila giggle. She looked over and also saw Erin smothering a laugh. Cassie walked between her two friends and pulled Laila into a hug.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," said Jon, shaking his hand. "I'm Jon and Cassie has told me a lot about you."

Will nodded and smirked at Cassie, "she's told me a lot about you as well… You're the wizard with a boyfriend, correct?"

Jon blushed and nodded his head. Cassie stepped forward and introduced everyone else to each other. After greetings were said and everyone had their coffee, Bri stepped forward,

"Cass, we're going to head to Honeydukes, but we'll meet up before it's time to head back to the school." She said brightly, knowing that Cassie would want to spend some time alone with her friends from home.

Cassie nodded and sent a grateful look towards Bri, while Bri continued to drag everyone (mostly Will) out of the coffee shop. When they had left Erin stood up and pulled Cassie into a warm hug. Cassie smiled largely as her senses were overwhelmed with the familiarity of having her best friends and his family so close by.

The four of them headed out of the coffee shop and started walking down the main road in Hogsmeade. Laila and Jon were filling Cassie in on the things that were happening back in Florence. Jon told Cassie about Zach and Lucy and how well Lucy was doing with her new boyfriend, Jon believed this could actually be the one. Cassie found herself missing the little town on the beach so much more, but she was glad that these three had come all the way to see her.

"We should go to Zonko's," said Jon, pointing at the store across from them.

"Absolutely not," said Erin. "You three are far too much trouble without the aid of magical objects, the last thing we need is magical prank items lying around the house."

"Oh come on Erin," said Cassie, putting on her best puppy dog eyes. "My father would be mortified if he found that I came to Hogsmeade and didn't visit the joke shop, and mind you, he'll ask me about it on Monday… So really I have to go and you don't want me going in there alone do you?"

Erin snorted and rolled her eyes, not being fooled for one moment, "fine go on…"

"Brilliant!" said Laila walking quickly towards the store.

Jon threw his arm around Cassie's shoulders and steered her towards the store as well. He stopped before they reached the doors and turned to face Cassie, "the guy you're with, he has red hair right?"

Cassie nodded, unsure of where this was going.

"Muscular? About my height?" again Cassie nodded.

Jon smirked and made his way to the bookshop that was located next to the joke shop. Cassie's eyes widened when she saw that Charlie was standing outside of the bookshop and she followed Jon, unsure of what he was doing.

When Jon reached Charlie he leaned up against the same wall that Charlie was leaning on, but turned to face him. Charlie was looking at him curiously, but Cassie could also see the hint of a glare in the look.

"Hello," said Jon huskily and Cassie's eyes widened, she couldn't believe Jon was going to flirt with her boyfriend.

"I couldn't help but notice you glaring at me back there, I do hope I've done nothing to offend," he said and he reached forward rubbing Charlie's forearm with his fingers. Cassie covered her mouth surprised when she saw Jon's hand wander up to his bicep and squeezed. "Dang, you are fit," he said looking him up and down with his eyes "Cassie has excellent taste," he said quietly.

Cassie was torn between being amused and horrified. Charlie was looking wide-eyed and uncomfortable at Jon and he had turned a dark shade of red, nearly matching his hair. Despite him being her best friend, Cassie felt a sudden flare of jealousy although it didn't last long. She reached them and pulled Jon away from Charlie, glancing around to make sure no on was listening. She saw Erin and Laila from a distance both giggling and looking towards them.

"Charlie, this is my best friend Jon, from Florence," she said with a guilty smile.

Charlie smiled, still looking embarrassed at being hit on, but reached forward and shook Jon's hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you, I've heard a lot about you."

"You as well," said Jon smiling brightly, with a hint of mischievousness. "Sorry about flirting with you, but I saw you glaring and thought I'd show you that you are much more my type than Cassie," he said, smirking when both Cassie and Charlie blushed.

"Enough," said Cassie, whacking Jon on the back of his head. "You are both taken, so no more…"

"Aww come on Cass, it had to be done. How long did you make jokes when Zach and I started dating?" said Jon pointedly.

"It's alright mate, sorry for glaring at you, but I had no idea who you were… You should probably both be going," he said hesitantly glancing towards Professor Sinistra who had just walked out of the shop across from them. "Nice to finally meet you Jon, I'm sure I'll see you again sometime."

"Yeah probably," he said as he and Cassie started walking back towards Erin and Laila. "Oh Charlie," he said, turning back around, "You know if you hurt her I'll have to kill you right?"

Charlie laughed and nodded "I won't hurt her," he said honestly, waving goodbye to the duo.

After exploring the shops and buying pranks and chocolate, the four made their way to the Three Broomsticks. The day had passed quickly and the afternoon was turning into evening, but they figured they would have time for some drinks at least. Erin went up to the front to get some butterbeer and the other three found seats around a small table next to the window in the back. They had been chatting and laughing about nonsense, sipping their drinks that Erin brought them, when someone else approached the table.

"Miss Potter, I hope you know that evening is approaching and you should be getting back to the castle. I realize that you are a Potter however, I will not hesitate in taking points from Slytherin if you are late."

Cassie nodded, but glared at her Professor. She was grateful that she wasn't treated as badly as Harry was, but she was still one of the only people in all of Slytherin that he didn't like.

"Who was that?" asked Jon with a grimace when Snape walked away.

"Professor Snape," said Cassie annoyed.

"You Potions professor? And head of house? He doesn't seem to like you does he?"

Cassie shook her head, "he and my father were basically enemies when they were at Hogwarts, apparently my father was a bit of a bully. And apparently that's why he hates harry and I so much, because he thinks we are like him. Which is utterly ridiculous, I mean sure I might be quite a bit like my father, but Harry is definitely not, and Harry is treated worse than I am."

"It's also kind of ridiculous for a grown man to hold a grudge and take it out on two children," said Erin.

Cassie shrugged, "I think there's more to it, but I'm not sure. Remus thinks he was actually in love with my mother, which is why he hated my father, but that doesn't offer much more explanation. I think he's just a bitter man with a difficult life," she said with another shrug.

"Don't those four go to Hogwarts as well? You're professor didn't seem to chew them out," said Laila pointing towards a table that was fairly close by to them.

Cassie noticed right away that there were all Slytherins at the table. Cassie's eyes roamed the table and she saw that Ivy was sitting there as well as a 7th year Slytherin girl she didn't recognize. She was surprised to see that Danny was sitting next to the other 7th year, holding her hand and across from Ivy, staring directly at Cassie was Birch, the same guy she had shocked in the Great Hall when he threatened her uncle. She was unnerved by the look in his eye, he was glaring at her unflinching when she made eye contact.

"We should go," Cassie said quietly the other three looked at her curiously, but stood up with her and gathered their stuff. Cassie let them lead her out of the shop, when she reached the door she turned back towards the Slytherins and found that all of them were now looking at her. She found Birch and Ivy glaring, the 7th year looking at her curiously and Danny smiling sadly at her, with some masked emotion in his eyes. Cassie smiled back and followed her friends out of the Three Broomsticks.

Erin, Jon, and Laila walked Cassie to the edge of Hogsmeade. They each took turns giving her a hug.

"Be safe," said Erin, hugging her tightly. "I know the transition has been hard, but it'll get better, especially with that cute red head."

Cassie blushed and laughed when they pulled apart.

"Are you coming back for Christmas?" asked Jon

Cassie shrugged, "Remus said we would come back for at least a few days, and I'd really like to go to Lucy's party, but I don't know if we'll be there on Christmas day."

Jon nodded, "As long as we get to see you for at least a little bit over Christmas break."

Cassie smiled "you will… I should probably go, knowing Snape he will be waiting and hoping to take points from me."

The three of them nodded.

"We love you Cassie, be sure to tell Remus we said 'hello,'" said Erin.

Cassie nodded and began her long walk back towards the Castle.

* * *

Cassie had briefly though about going to visit her father, but remembering that he went home for the weekend, she made her way to Charlie's living quarters. Glancing around to make sure no one was near, she whispered the password and climbed through the portrait hole. Charlie was only supposed to be chaperoning until 3, so she knew he should be here by now, but she found that he wasn't in the small kitchen or the living room.

She walked to his bedroom and saw that the door was open, when she peaked her head into the room she found Charlie fast asleep on his bed, apparently the long day in Hogsmeade had worn him out. She hesitated only slightly before taking off her jacket and shoes and walking over to the bed. Cassie crawled onto the bed, careful not to wake him, and lifted his arm, laying down underneath it and letting it drape over her. She snuggled into his chest and smiled when she felt his arms tighten instinctively, pulling her even closer to him. Cassie was surprised by how tired she was, but she figured it wouldn't hurt to take a nap and within minutes she was sleeping soundly.

* * *

Cassie opened her eyes and was confused for a moment, not recognizing her surroundings, before she remembered crawling into bed with Charlie. She glanced to her side and found that the bed was empty. She crawled out of bed and smelling something delicious, she made her way to Charlie's small kitchenette. She smiled brightly when she saw him cooking something on the stove and saw that he had set the table with two plates, a lit candle in the middle.

"Morning love," he said, turning around when he heard her enter.

"Morning?"

"Well, I suppose evening…" he said with a shrug. "I must say, it was very nice waking up to find a pretty little red head in my arms, but you could have woken me up."

Cassie smiled and walked over to him and leaned forward, kissing him on the cheek. "You looked so peaceful and I was apparently very tired as well."

Charlie nodded and smiled sweetly, "it was nice," he said honestly. "Take a seat, dinner's almost ready… Oh I sent word to your friends telling them you wouldn't be back until curfew."

"Oh, thanks," said Cassie. "I hadn't even thought of telling them I wasn't coming back when I got to the castle."

Charlie shrugged "I figured they would worry like they usually do, and I didn't want them to go to a professor saying you were missing and then have Mr. Potter come barging in here to have me help them look for you only to find you asleep on my bed and then castrate me for whatever it was he believed I did to his sweet little girl."

Cassie blushed and laughed. It was true, that it probably would have happened. Her friends did seem to worry an unusual amount, but she figured with the forest incident they probably had a good reason.

"Dinner's ready," said Charlie, putting stir-fry on to Cassie's plate and his own.

"We've been dating for nearly a month and I had no idea you could cook," said Cassie after taking a bite of her food. "This is amazing."

"My mum had the intention of teaching us all how to cook, although I believe she only succeeded with Bill, Percy, and I." He pulled out a couple of glasses and poured some wine in them after a quick glance at Cassie. He only filled hers half full and set it down in front of her. "You don't have to drink it if you don't want and I realize that you're underage, but you don't act like it. You seem much older than you are so if you do want to drink when we're together, I don't mind giving you some."

"Thanks," said Cassie. This was one of the many things she loved about Charlie. He treated her like an adult, not a child. She understood that she was only sixteen, but in her sixteen years of life she had been through far more than most and she didn't feel like a child anymore. She was fully aware that her childhood ended the night that she was kidnapped and she was grateful that Charlie realized that as well.

The two of them ate in silence for a while before Cassie brought up the topic that she had come to discuss originally.

"I don't trust Birch," she said and was surprised by the harshness in her voice.

Charlie paused and looked up at her worried, "did something happen?"

Cassie shook her head, "no, nothing happened, but I saw him today and there was something in the way that he looked at me that sent chills down my spine." She recounted the story of the Three Broomsticks, not that there was much to tell. When she finished, Charlie sat thoughtfully before saying,

"I don't trust him either, never have, but I don't think you have anything to worry about with him. He won't try to do anything while you're here, the only time you ever see him is in the Great Hall or classes, so it would be hard for him to do anything."

Cassie nodded; it was true that if it were her he was after, he would have a difficult time getting to her. She was always in the company of her friends or in the girl's dorm, which boys couldn't get into.

"However," said Charlie, bringing Cassie out of her thoughts, "I would be more worried about Ivy, if she is close with him, she would have much easier access to you than Birch since the two of you share a dorm. I would put some sort of a safety charm around your bed and your stuff. I'll talk to Bill and see if he can think of one."

Cassie nodded, "that's a good idea." She hesitated slightly "Do you think Danny is friends with him? Birch I mean?" she asked.

Charlie saw the worry and pain in her eyes, "I don't know Cass, I've seen them together a few times, but not often."

Cassie nodded, she didn't know what to make of Danny. They had been friends when they were locked in the dungeons of Lestrange Manor, but now he seemed different. She supposed that seven years changes a person, but she couldn't get a read on him. He was quiet and intelligent. He must have been a good student to get the position of head boy, but she couldn't deny that she was curious as to why he never really talked to her. Was it only because she brought up so many bad memories for him? She figured that must have been it, it must have been because she was a symbol of the manor and the torture that occurred there.

"Cass," Charlie said quietly as he moved to the other side of the table so he was sitting directly next to Cassie. He brought his hand up to her face and gently brushed her cheek. "You don't need to worry love. I know you and Danny were friends and your confused, but things always have a way of working themselves out. And sometimes things that we make a big deal out of, turn out to be nothing at all."

Cassie nodded, he was right; this was something that she really didn't need to be worrying about, especially not right now. Charlie leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead.

"There was actually something else I wanted to talk to you about," said Charlie hesitantly.

"What is it?" She asked gently, grabbing his large hand in her small one.

"I'd like… I'd like to tell Bill about us, if that's alright with you. I know that we want to keep this a secret and I still do, but he's my best friend and I know we can trust him, he would never tell my parents or your parents. I usually tell him everything you know? And I just though-"

Cassie cut off his rant with a kiss. "That's fine Charlie, I understand that we need to keep this a secret, but I don't mind some people knowing." She said understandingly. "I know that it's important to have someone to talk to about your relationship, someone who is _outside_ of you relationship. Besides, quite a few people actually know about us…" she said, biting her lip.

Charlie smiled at her and tugged her lip out from between her teeth with his finger, "stop that, only I can chew on that," he said, causing Cassie to turn bright red.

"I know that some of your friends have guessed about us, and judging Jon's reaction to me," he said with a small blush, "I'm assuming you told Jon. I just wanted to make sure that you don't mind Bill knowing."

"I don't mind," she said.

"Good," he said with a smile that caused Cassie to melt. He levitated both of their empty dishes to the sink and stood up, pulling Cassie with him. He walked them both over to the couch and sat down, pulling her down next to him, so that the two of them were sitting very close.

Cassie sat facing him and started brushing her fingers through his hair. He let out a contended sigh and closed his eyes, laying his head on the back of the couch, encouraging Cassie to continue her ministrations.

"You know, you were as bright as a fire truck when Jon hit on you today," Cassie said sweetly, although Charlie could hear the smirk in her voice. He didn't even have the energy to glare at her, as his filled stomach and Cassie's fingers were putting him to sleep.

"Don't even remind me," Charlie groaned. "That was humiliating, I saw him put his arm around you and thought maybe he was interested in you, but when he came and felt my bicep, I was torn between punching him and running away."

Cassie laughed quietly, "I had no idea what he was going to do, he's not usually that forward, but I think since he knew we were together he decided to embarrass both of us at once."

Charlie smiled, "that's okay, from everything you've told me, he seems like a great guy."

"he is," she said honestly. "I'm hoping you'll get to know him better at Christmas."

Charlie opened his eyes and glanced at Cassie questioningly.

"I know we haven't been dating long," she started hesitantly, with a blush rising up her neck. "Remus and I were invited to this Christmas party in Florence and I thought since Remus already knows about you and it would just be the two of us and my friends who have absolutely no contact with my parents… I thought you might want to come as well," she finished nervously.

Charlie looked thoughtful and then smiled at her. "I'd love to, I'm sure I can find a way to sneak out since I'll be staying at the Burrow for Winter break."

Cassie smiled brightly at him and Charlie couldn't resist pulling her into a kiss.


	22. Halloween 1991

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Halloween

It was the first time in a very long time that James woke up, looked at the calendar to find it was Halloween, and smiled. It was ten years to the day that he had lost his daughter and for the first time he could smile because he had her back. She was safe and definitely _not_ dead.

After a quick breakfast and a couple of third year classes, James was making his way to the Great Hall for lunch, when he found just the person he was hoping to speak with. Cassie was walking with Charlie who was talking animatedly, about which James would bet money on was Dragons. Cassie was smiling fondly at him and James was torn between being grateful to Charlie for putting that look on his daughter's face and wanting to tear Charlie to pieces for leading Cassie on or maybe even being interested in Cassie. James had to remind himself that they were friends, became friends before the school year started, and there was absolutely no way Charlie would date her while she was underage _or_ while he was her professor.

"Hello kids," James said when he reached them, smirking when Cassie rolled her eyes at him. "What are you talking about?" He asked, ready to win the bet with himself that Charlie was discussing dragons.

"Mr. Hudson," began Charlie with a large grin "did you know there's this mythical dragon called a Colchian dragon that guarded the Golden Fleece in the holy grove of Ares? Anyways… this dragon supposedly died and its teeth were planted into the ground and out grew _fully grown_ war like men," he finished excitedly. "Cassie and I were just discussing whether or not we believe it could be real."

Cassie who was standing a little behind Charlie rolled her eyes and shook her head in a disbelieving sort of way.

James looked at Charlie surprised, he was right about Charlie talking about dragons, but he had never expected anything so bizarre. "How, on Merlin's green earth, could men grow out of the ground?"

Charlie shrugged, still smiling "muggles don't believe magic is real, but here we are, living proof that magic exists. There's always been a lot of suspicion throughout history on whether or not gods and goddesses exist. I'm not saying it's possible or even that I _believe_ it's true and obviously there aren't any war like men claiming to be born of the earth, but there isn't anything saying that it's not possible either," he said firmly.

James laughed and nodded, Charlie always had been one of his favorite Weasleys. "I suppose you're right, maybe there are war like men who grew from the earth and are banded together in some absurd society talking about how purebloods don't believe they are real."

Charlie laughed, "That's all I'm saying. Well I should probably get going, I need to have a quick lunch before I go teach third years about flobberworms," he said, wrinkling his nose. "Mr. Hudson, Cassie," he said with a quick glance back at Cassie. Thankfully James missed the loving look in Charlie's eyes.

James looked back at Cassie, opening his mouth to speak, but was cut off.

"Oh hey!" both Cassie and James looked back at Charlie who smiled kindly. "Happy Halloween," he said with a wink before he disappeared into the Great Hall.

Both James and Cassie beamed at him. "So," began James, turning back to Cassie "how was class? He didn't show you a dragon did he?"

Cassie laughed and shook her head "no, we talked about mermaids… Professor Dumbledore came out and spoke to the mer-chief in the black lake, it was pretty cool."

James nodded, "Charlie seems to be really good at this, too bad he's only here for a year."

Cassie nodded her agreement.

"Anyways, so I wanted to talk to you about tonight…" he said hesitating. "This night has always been difficult for your mother and I, well for obvious reasons," he said and Cassie's eyes softened. "For the last several years I've skipped the feast and gone home, but your mother and I were thinking that this year it might be nice to have a family dinner, since our family is whole again… and celebrate, rather than… well mourn. I think everyone was planning on coming, Padfoot, Moony, Natalie, and the kids. I know you might want to go to the Halloween feast and if you really want to than – "

"That sounds great." Said Cassie, cutting him off. "Dinner would be nice. Uncle Remus and I have always had a quiet night on Halloween as well and it'll be nice to have a new tradition." She said quietly.

James smiled "great. So the Halloween feast starts at 6:00, but Sirius has to work late, so we were thinking of meeting at 6:30 in my living quarters… sound good?"

"That sounds good," she said with a bright smile.

"Okay, I'll let your brother know and if anyone asks, you're having a family dinner with Sirius. We should probably get to lunch, classes start up again in thirty minutes," he said and the two of them headed into the Great Hall. Cassie broke apart for him when she reached the Slytherin table, James watched as she sat comfortably between Bri and Will. Yes James was enjoying this Halloween much more than the others.

* * *

She was making her way down to her father's living quarters when she heard some loud mocking followed by a quiet sob. She turned down a corridor heading in the opposite direction and found a group of five people who looked to be third year Slytherins surrounding a small girl wearing Gryffindor red. She looked to be a first year and was very obviously frightened. She had sunk down so she was sitting on the floor and the others were standing above her laughing loudly, jeering at her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Cassie asked angrily.

One of the Slytherin boys sent a sneer towards the little girl huddled on the floor, "A little lion was wandering alone in the corridor. We can't have that now can we?"

Cassie looked at him with disgust, "You mean to tell me that she didn't actually do anything and you five decided to just gain up on her?" she asked her voice deadly quiet, sending a chill through the room.

A couple of the Slytherins looked at her surprised. "She's just a Gryffindor!" said one of the girls bravely.

"So because she's a Gryffindor, that gives you the right to pick on her?" she said raising her voice and walking towards them with her wand out. "Why do you think people look at Slytherins negatively? It is people like _you_ who give all of us a bad name. You lot are cowards and fools. Five of you taking on someone half your size who didn't even do anything! It's disgusting. I suggest you clear off before I hang each of you from the ceiling by your leg hair."

Cassie figured she must have looked frightening because all five of them quickly ran off down the corridor, not even realizing that there were five of them and only one of her. _"mutatio rosea!"_ she shouted for good measure, pointing her wand at there fleeing backs. She snorted when she saw all of their hair turn neon pink.

She heard a watery giggle come from the floor and looked down at the small Gryffindor, who had her knees brought up to her chest and was hastily wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Are you alright?" Cassie asked softly. The girl didn't look up, but stayed huddled on the floor. Cassie sighed and sat down next to her. "They didn't hurt you did they?"

The girl shook her head, "they were just being mean," she said quietly.

"What's your name?" asked Cassie.

"Kara," she said, glancing up at Cassie with big, watery, brown eyes.

"I'm Cassie," she said smiling at Kara. "Don't worry about them, they're just bullies and soon enough you'll know enough spells to be able to fight back."

Kara smiled "I hope you're right… the spell you used was pretty cool."

Cassie chuckled, "my uncle taught it to me, apparently he used to use it on my father and godfather to get them to behave."

"You're Harry's sister right?"

"I am," she said brightly.

She nodded and looked at her knees. "He's really nice too… it must run in your family."

"He's a pretty great kid… Far better than I am," Cassie said a little awkwardly. "How about you? Do you have any siblings?"

Kara wrinkled her nose and nodded. "I technically have an older brother," she said hesitantly. "He's a seventh year in Slytherin."

Cassie frowned remembering something her father said. Here eyes widened and she turned more towards Kara, "Michael's your brother isn't he?"

Kara nodded, "he's head boy this year, but I wasn't sure if you'd know him."

"Yeah," Cassie said awkwardly "I know him… or well I used to, I suppose."

Kara looked at her strangely, "When did you used to know him? Was it before my parents adopted him?"

Cassie hesitated; she wasn't entirely sure how much Kara would know about her older brother, she figured he might not know very much since she was only eleven.

"It's kind of a long story…" was the response she settled on.

Kara nodded, accepting that she wouldn't find out more.

"What did you mean that he is _technically_ your brother?" Cassie asked with a frown, it almost sounded as though Kara didn't really consider him a brother.

Kara shrugged, "he's my brother and all and I've known him for almost my whole life, I mean my parents adopted him when I was four, but he's always been distant. Almost like he's apart of the family, but he's not… Does that make sense?"

Cassie shrugged, "I don't know… I guess."

Kara looked slightly uncomfortable, so Cassie decided to change the topic. She'd dwell on the mystery of Michael Anderson (formerly known as Danny) later. Remembering that she had been on her way to her father's living quarters to have a Halloween dinner, Cassie looked at her watch and discovered that Kara was already late for the feast and herself for her family dinner.

"You should probably get to the feast," Cassie suggested.

Kara glanced at her watch and nodded, jumping to her feet. "I've heard the Halloween feast is incredible," she said excitedly, almost as though she hadn't just been wiping tears from her eyes.

"I've heard that as well," Cassie said.

Kara looked at her curiously, "are you not going?" she asked.

Cassie shook her head, "Halloween is a… difficult day, and so I'm having dinner with my brother and godfather."

"Oh," Kara said, but didn't press for more information.

"I'll walk with you to the Great Hall though," Cassie offered kindly.

Kara's face lit up and she nodded her head, "thanks."

The two of them began walking towards the Great Hall, falling into a comfortable conversation about Kara's classes.

They were nearing the Great Hall when Cassie heard a muffled yell, followed by another, followed by an inhuman grunt.

Cassie glanced at Kara whose eyes widened. The two of them stopped walking and listened intently for another sound.

When Cassie heard another yell she turned to Kara telling her to wait where she was and took off, running towards the yell. What was it with Halloween? As she got closer to the noise, a horrible stench hit her nose. She found the noise was coming from the girl's bathroom. She approached the door cautiously, opening the door slowly, peaking through the crack. What she saw made her heart drop.

A giant troll (she assumed it was a Mountain troll due to the smell and size) was holding her younger brother upside down while swinging its giant club at his head. Hermione was cowering by the sinks and Ron was panicking pointing his wand at the troll. Before Cassie could move a muscle, the troll's club was lifted out of its hand and continued to fall on top of its head, knocking it out, causing Harry to fall from it's grasp. Harry didn't seem to realize that the troll was about to fall on him, as he was on his hands and knees directly underneath it. Before the troll could crush her brother, Cassie raised both her hands "accio Harry!" she shouted, and Harry came flying towards her, connecting with her and knocking both of them into the wall and then onto the ground.

With a groan, Cassie stood up, shaking the dizziness from her eyes and rubbing the back of her head where it collided with the stone wall. She took a moment to look around at her surroundings. Ron was speaking quietly with Hermione and Kara was helping Harry to his feet. The troll was lying face down on the ground with it's eyes closed and Cassie knew it would probably take a lot more than being hit by its own club to kill it, so it was probably just knocked out.

"What on earth is going on in here?" she asked, rounding on her brother.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione shared a look and Harry began. "Well you see, Ron and I were at the feast in the Great Hall when Professor Quirell came in saying there was a troll in the dungeon and then Professor Dumbledore sent everyone back to their rooms, but Hermione wasn't at dinner so we decided to go and warn her, but then the troll was in here and Hermione was in here…. And well you know the rest pretty much."

Cassie looked at each of them and saw honesty. She was curious as to why Hermione hadn't been at dinner, but figured she could find out later.

Cassie glanced at her watch and realized that they were supposed to meet their family thirty minutes ago.

"We're going to be in so much trouble, aren't we?" asked Hermione in a fearful voice.

Cassie shook her head, "no, it'll be fine, let's just get out of here before that thing wakes up."

The four first years didn't hesitate at all and followed her out of the restroom. Cassie locked the door behind her and the five of them started putting distance between themselves and the troll.

"I'll take you three back to Gryffindor tower," she said gesturing to Ron, Hermione, and Kara. "Harry and I have somewhere we need to be," she finished. She rubbed the back of her head when she felt a burst of pain spike through.

"How did that thing get into the castle?" asked Hermione.

"I honestly have no idea. I didn't even know there was a troll in the school until I heard the yelling," said Cassie.

"Why were you late?" asked Harry, frowning at his sister. "Why were you even heading to the Great Hall? I didn't think you were going to come to the feast."

Cassie glanced quickly at Kara, who was sporting a light blush. "I thought I might check it out and I met Kara on the way and we started talking," she lied easily.

Harry nodded and the five of them made the rest of the way in silence. When they reached the Gryffindor tower, Hermione whispered the password; sparing Cassie a small glance as though worried she would hear it.

"I'll see you later," said Harry, waving at his friends.

"Oh, be careful," said Hermione with a small smile.

The door closed behind them and Cassie and Harry turned around, heading towards their father's living quarters.

"So… Do you usually let trolls grab you by the ankle and swing you around upside down?" asked Cassie nonchalantly.

Harry snorted, "I didn't _let_ it, I just jumped on it's back and it didn't like that."

Cassie looked at him incredulously, but shook her head… she didn't want to know.

"Are you like a trouble magnet or something?" she asked sarcastically.

Harry grimaced. "Did you know that there's a giant three headed dog in the school?" he asked quietly.

Cassie stopped in her tracks and Harry turned to look at her. "What?"

Harry looked a little guilty, "well, you see there's a three headed dog in the third floor corridor. Hermione reckons he's guarding something."

"The third floor corridor? You mean the _forbidden_ corridor?"

Harry nodded.

Cassie shook her head… she didn't want to know. The two of them continued walking, rounding the corner to the living quarters.

"Mum's going to kill us," said Harry seriously when they reached the portrait hole.

Cassie grimaced, "well we don't _need_ to tell them that you fought a troll."

Harry smiled at her mischievously, "good idea."

Cassie rolled her eyes and whispered the password. They entered the room and heard voices coming from the living room.

"You don't reckon they're hurt do you?" came the worried voice of Lily.

"No… they were probably relocated to their rooms," said Sirius.

"Mum… Can't we eat? They might not even be able to come tonight!" said Liam.

"No dear… we at least have to wait for your father. He'll be able to tell us what's going on."

Cassie and Harry shared a quick glance, each taking a deep breath, before Harry opened the door to the living room.

"Hi mum," he said brightly.

"Oh you made it," she said as she walked forward and pulled Harry into a hug.

"Did they catch the troll?" Sirius asked, pulling Cassie into a hug before Remus could.

"I have no idea," said Cassie.

After everyone had a chance to greet Cassie and Harry (even Natalie gave Cassie a reluctant hug), they all sat down at the expanded kitchen table.

"So why are you so late if you didn't have to wait for them to find the troll?" asked Lily.

Cassie glanced at Harry quickly, "we had to wait a bit before we could sneak out of our dorms."

Lily raised her eyebrows, "you should have waited," she scolded. "What if you had run into the troll on your way here? You should have waited to know it was safe."

Harry, who had just taken a drink of his water, started coughing and Cassie gently kicked him under the table.

"Jon came and visited!" said Cassie quickly, turning to Remus.

Remus' eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Yes dear, we talked about that a couple nights ago."

"Oh," said Cassie, looking down at her lap. _'Note to self: don't make eye contact'_ She thought to herself. Remus could always read her and knew when she was lying.

James walked into the kitchen and smiled at his family, "Where were you guys?" he asked Harry and Cassie. "We were worried when you were late and then when Minerva sent word about the troll."

Cassie shrugged, "they sent us back to the rooms, we didn't want to be yelled at for going in a different direction."

James nodded, accepting her excuse.

"Did you find it dad?" asked Liam excitedly.

James nodded, "we found it in the girl's lavatory. It was lying on the ground unconscious…" he said, furrowing his brow. "It was strange, the troll was _locked_ in the bathroom from the outside, it seemed like someone else had knocked out the troll and left," he said with a shrug.

Harry glanced quickly at Cassie and she could only berate herself for locking that door. If she hadn't, they could have brushed it off saying that the troll knocked itself out, they were stupid enough to do something like that. At the time, she just didn't want it to escape and start terrorizing students again.

Lily served a nice meal (one which she prepared at home) and everyone fell into comfortable discussions about their daily lives. Everyone was grateful that this day no longer represented the heartache of losing one's family and were grateful that they were able to be together.

As the night progressed and dinner was finished, Cassie found her headache to become nearly unbearable. She excused herself quickly, and made her way into the restroom, clutching the back of her head as she sunk to her knees. She wasn't entirely sure why, but she didn't want anyone to know that she was in so much pain. She supposed it could have partially been because she didn't want them to know that Harry fought a Mountain troll and that is the situation that Cassie's head connected with the wall. For the most part she didn't want them fussing over her and she was really hoping that it would just go away.

She opened her eyes to find that her vision was entirely blurry, she could feel the tears falling down her face and she was still clutching her head tightly. Cassie was suddenly feeling very tired, all she wanted to do was go back to her room and sleep this off. She shakily stood up straight and wiped the tears from her eyes. She opened the door and headed back to the kitchen.

"I think I'm going to head back to my dorm, it's been a long day," she said and as she took another step, she found the vision around her blackening and felt herself falling to the ground.

* * *

Sirius jumped up quickly from his seat and caught Cassie before she could hit the floor, as he had been closest to her when she started to fall. He gently lowered her to the floor, laying her head in his lap.

Lily had quickly rushed over to them and was casting scans on Cassie to see what was wrong. James and Remus were hovering over her as well, while the kids stood back and just stared with worry.

"Mum, she hit her head," said Harry loudly.

Lily looked up at him quickly, and cast another scan at Cassie's head. She sighed in relief when she saw that Cassie had a concussion, at least that was fairly easy to fix.

"Will somebody carry her into the extra bedroom? Kids I want you to stay out here with Aunt Natalie and Harry, you come with us," She ordered.

"When did she hit her head?" Lily asked Harry.

Harry bit his lip and glanced at the adults in the room. Remus was looking particularly suspicious and Harry was almost grateful that he figured it out.

"She fought the troll didn't she?" he asked and all the other heads in the room jerked to look at him and then back at Harry.

Harry shook his head, "she didn't fight the troll… but she was there and I accidently knocked her over and she hit her head pretty hard on the wall. She's had a headache all night."

Lily's eyes narrowed at her oldest son, "why on earth were you in with the troll?"

Harry shuffled his feet, "Well you see Hermione didn't know about the troll so Ron and I went to warn her and we ended up finding the troll in the bathroom with Hermione and it was going to kill her and I couldn't let that happen so I distracted it…" he trailed off looking at his mother's murderous glare and the others' looks of shock.

"And how did you distract it?" prompted his father.

"…Well I sort of ran and jumped on it's back. It grabbed me by the ankle and was going to hit me with its club, but Ron managed to knock it out with its club and so it dropped me. It was going to crush me, but Cassie summoned me I think and that's when I knocked her over. I don't even know when she got there," he finished, not making eye contact.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER – " began his mother, but Remus grabbing her shoulders cut her off.

"Before you murder your children, which I fully support, could you make sure Cassie's okay?" he asked with a soft smile.

Lily's eyes softened and she glanced back at her daughter lying on the bed, "of course," she said and turned to take care of her.

Remus sent a wink to Harry and sat by Sirius who was trying to hold back his laughter. James looked worried, but there was a look of pride in his eyes. He stood up and pulled Harry into a hug "good job, but don't ever do that again," he said quietly so Lily couldn't hear him.

* * *

Cassie woke up about an hour later. The room was bathed in a low light and Cassie was grateful to find her headache was gone. She looked around the room and realized that she was still in her father's living quarters; at least they didn't take her to the hospital wing. Looking to her left she found her mother sitting in a chair, reading. When Cassie looked at her, Lily's eyes left the book and she smiled softly.

"How are you feeling?" she asked brushing her hand along Cassie's forehead.

"I'm fine," Cassie, said a little embarrassed.

Lily nodded, "do you have a headache?"

Cassie shook her head truthfully. "What happened?" she asked, although she knew she passed out.

"Well, you had a concussion from hitting your head and you passed out. But I gave you a potion that should heal it up quickly and another potion that will control the symptoms that normally come with a concussion," she said, sitting on her daughter's bed, moving herself so she was facing her.

"So um…" Cassie began, unsure how much her mother knew about _why_ she hit her head.

"Harry told us," Lily said with a small smile, but the look in her eyes told Cassie that Harry had been yelled at and when she was better she'd probably be yelled at as well. Surprisingly, Cassie found herself okay with that.

"Cass, why didn't you say you were in pain?" Lily asked seriously.

Cassie shrugged, "I didn't want anyone to fuss."

Lily frowned, "but Cassie, if you tell us when you are hurting or sick, we can actually help you. You must have been in a lot of pain in order to have passed out and that could have been prevented if you had told us."

Cassie shrugged again.

"If it had just been Remus here, would you have told him?" she asked. Cassie glanced up, ready to deny it, but when she saw the seriousness and honesty in her mother's eyes, she nodded.

"I'm just used to it with him," she said hesitantly. "When we were in the manor, I wasn't supposed to feel. Pain wasn't supposed to bother me. Crying wasn't allowed. Anytime I showed how much pain I was in or if I started crying, it just made everything worse. When it was just Remus and I, I was able to cry and open up to him and so I'm used to it. It obviously continued after we escaped and I don't know, I suppose it's just _always_ been Uncle Moony."

Lily nodded, but Cassie could see the tears forming in her eyes. "That makes sense," she said, brushing her hand across Cassie's cheekbone. "But I want you to know that your father and I are here. We _want_ to know when you're in pain physically or emotionally. We want to know your desires or needs, Cassie we want to give you everything," She said.

Cassie nodded "I'm sorry I didn't say anything… and thanks," she said. Before her mom could respond Cassie leaned forward, wrapping her arms around her mother's neck. "I've missed you mum," she said and Cassie wasn't entirely sure if she just meant while at school or for the last ten years, but she wanted this, a real relationship with her mother.

They pulled back after a couple of minutes and Lily hastily wiped the tears from her eyes. "So, how did you end up in the bathroom anyways? Harry didn't seem entirely sure."

"Oh, I was on my way here when I heard some kids picking on a little girl, so I went and talked to her and then offered to walk her to the Great Hall and we were on our way there when we heard the yelling in the bathroom," she said with a small grimace. "When I opened the door Harry was about to be crushed, so I did the first thing I thought of and accio'd him."

Lily laughed and grimaced at the same time. "I'm surprised that worked, Accio doesn't usually work on people… and thank goodness you were there, if you weren't…" she trailed off and Cassie grimaced as well thinking of her little brother being flattened.

Cassie shrugged and Lily placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "You've got to stop doing that, you'll become far too tense."

Cassie went to shrug again and laughed when she realized how often she really does it, "apparently it's a habit."

"Apparently," she said, tucking Cassie's hair behind her ear. "You should probably get some sleep, you have classes tomorrow and it's getting late."

Cassie nodded she was rather tired. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was after 9:30pm and curfew was approaching, but she could still make it back to her dorm room on time. "Did everyone else leave?" she asked.

Lily nodded, "They wanted to wait for you to wake up, but we weren't entirely sure how long you'd be asleep, so I sent the kids home with Sirius and then Natalie claimed she was exhausted and dragged Remus home," she said and Cassie could here the exasperation in her voice when she mentioned Natalie. Cassie didn't ask about it because she didn't particularly want to know. "Harry had curfew at nine and your father is in the living room grading papers," she finished.

Cassie nodded and climbed out of the bed and followed her mother out of the room.

"Hey, are you feeling okay?" asked James when the two of them exited the bedroom. He stood up and pulled Cassie into a tight hug.

"I'm fine," she said honestly. "I'm going to head back to the common room though, It's almost curfew and I don't want the dungeon bat to catch me out after hours and claim that I'm an 'arrogant Potter,'" she said, smirking.

James laughed and nodded, "good idea, but come see me if you're in any pain."

Cassie nodded, "thanks for dinner," she said to both her parents "despite the troll and the concussion, this was still a much better Halloween than I've had since I was five."

"Us too," said Lily. "Goodnight darling," she said, giving her daughter one last hug.

"Goodnight, favorite minion," said James when Cassie gave him one last hug.

Cassie snorted and headed towards the portrait hole, seeing her mother playfully slap James' arm and hearing his her father's reply of "what? You called her darling!" she left the room, shaking her head. She lazily made her way back to her common room, grateful that this Halloween wasn't absolutely horrible.


	23. Quidditch

**Thanks to everyone who is following my story and thanks for the reviews!**

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Quidditch

The week following Halloween had been uneventful. The only people who knew what happened with the troll were the ones present and the Potter family. The professor's knew that someone had knocked it out, but no matter how much questioning they had done they couldn't figure out who had fought the troll. Of course they had assumed it was a seventh year student seeing as trolls were incredibly difficult to defeat, they never assumed it was four first years.

Cassie's lessons had been going well. She loved her lessons with Charlie, not only because she got to spend time with her boyfriend, but also because everything that they looked at together was fascinating. She also didn't really feel like Charlie was _teaching_ her, but that they were discovering these magical creatures together. Her biggest disappointment was that she hadn't really been able to _communicate_ with animals like Dumbledore had suspected. She wasn't any closer to figuring out the mystery of what her connection was with these animals, but she was enjoying her time learning about them nonetheless.

The weather had taken a turn for the worse; at least that's what some people thought. The leaves had stopped falling and school had turned icy gray. Every morning there was frost on the ground. Cassie, however, loved the rain and the wind. It reminded her of home. In Florence it rained quite often, but was cloudy and windy nearly every day, even during the summer. The sun being out was a rare occasion.

This is why she was bundled up in a thick waterproof jacket with a thick scarf covering the lower half of her face, laying on the ground outside, watching the rain drops fall from the sky, thinking about one of her favorite people.

Her relationship with Charlie was going incredibly well. At least that's what she thought. They complemented each other so perfectly. He was laid back and confident. It took a lot to get him angry, Lily said that he was a lot like Arthur in that sense. He would however, say exactly what was on his mind, even if it meant telling Cassie when she was wrong. She was hoping that he liked their relationship as much as she did. It definitely wasn't a typical relationship, they only ever-held hands or exchanged chaste kisses, or cuddled on the couch, never anything more and never in public. They didn't bother to hide their friendship in public as it had began before the school year started, but they were also careful to keep it looking like a student-teacher relationship.

Cassie was brought out of her thinking when object of her thought came into her vision. He was looking at her with an amused expression. "Are you mad?" he asked. He was also bundled up in a coat and scarf.

Cassie mumbled an answer, but when Charlie said "what?" she settled for nodding.

He shook his head fondly and reached out his hands to help pull her up. "Want to go on a field trip?" he asked, tilting his head in a way that Cassie loved.

"Okay," she mumbled into her scarf. "Where are we going?"

Charlie just smiled and shrugged and started walking in the direction of the Forbidden forest. They walked in silence, but when they were a short ways into the forest Charlie reached out his hand for Cassie to take, which she did gladly. She really couldn't wait until she was older and he wasn't her professor anymore. She wanted to hold his hand all the time.

"Tonight is technically our lesson for advanced COMC," he said, leading her deeper into the forest. "I got permission from Dumbledore to bring you into the forest to see something he thought would be interesting… something we can't exactly see in a classroom," he said.

"What is it? How did you know about it?"

"Dumbledore told me… We're almost there."

They had only been walking for a few minutes when Charlie stopped. Cassie looked around, still holding tightly to Charlie's hand. They weren't too deep in the forest as it was still fairly light, but they could no longer see the castle or the grounds.

"I don't see it," she said, her eyes roaming the forest for some sort of animal.

Charlie just raised his eyebrows and jerked his head to the side. Cassie looked over to where he was motioning and barely stifled a gasp. Sticking out of a tree was a lamb; it was attached to the tree, but was looking at them curiously.

"What on earth is it?" she asked quietly.

"A Vegetable Lamb," he said, looking at the lamb in awe.

"I've never heard of it," Cassie said with a shrug.

"It's basically a lamb that grows from a tree. It eats the plants around the tree and when there are no more plants, it'll die…. Rumor has it that when eaten, the meat tastes like fish, the blood like honey, and the bones will give someone the power to see the future," Charlie recited.

Cassie mumbled incoherently and released Charlie's hand, walking towards the lamb. She sat on the ground, her legs crisscrossed. She slowly reached out her hand and patted the lamb's head. It let out a contented 'baa' noise and lay down.

"Is there no way to separate her from the tree?" She asked, her eyes still fixed on the lamb.

Charlie shook his head even though she wasn't looking at him. "No, the tree is apart of it… it would die without it," he said with a slight grimace.

Cassie glanced back at him quickly, "But you said she would die if she runs out of food?"

Charlie walked forward and sat next to her. "We can make sure there's always food here for it to eat."

"Her…. She's a girl."

Charlie didn't ask how she knew. He realized that when it came to animals, some things just made sense to her.

"There are a lot of other dangerous animals in the forest aren't there? What if one of them attacks her? She's attached to the tree! It's not like she could run away." Cassie said, getting more and more passionate and upset.

"I don't know Cass," Charlie said calmly. "I don't know much about them, but we can do more research on them when we get back to the castle…. She is magical, she might have other means of protecting herself."

They sat there for a while longer in silence, other than the occasional bleats from the lamb.

"Do you understand her? Or feel anything?" Charlie asked.

Cassie shook her head. He had asked her this during every lesson and her answer had always been the same. There were times when she knew what to do or how to act, but she couldn't really _understand_ the animals or communicate with them. She was beginning to think that Dumbledore had been wrong about her.

"We should probably go Cass… It'll be dark soon and we need to get out of the forest before then."

Cassie nodded and patted the lamb one more time. "I'll see if there's anything I can do for you," she said quietly, the lamb just bleated in response.

She stood up and her and Charlie started walking in the direction they came. Charlie wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close, while she wrapped her arm around his waist.

When they got to the edge of the forest where they could see Hagrid's cabin, but were still fairly hidden, Charlie stopped them, turning to face Cassie.

"I know you're going to do all the research you can on vegetable lambs, but I think you should keep in mind that there may not be a problem that needs to be fixed," he said softly, looking directly into Cassie's eyes. When Cassie looked confused he continued, "House elves are treated horribly, at least that is how people like you and I would see it. But they're designed to serve witches and wizards. They _enjoy_ it and without the work, they could die. It might be the same with the lamb."

Cassie looked at her shoes, she hadn't even thought of that. She supposed these animals had always lived like that and even if she could free it from the tree, it wouldn't necessarily be beneficial.

A small smile graced her lips and she looked back at Charlie. "When did you become so wise?" she asked jokingly.

Charlie snorted and shook his head "I've always been wise, I'm practically Dumbledore!" he said sarcastically.

Cassie laughed and stood on her tiptoes, leaning forward and planting a firm kiss on his lips. She pulled away and looked up at him fondly. Charlie hesitated for only a moment before bending towards her and pulling her into another kiss. Cassie's breath hitched, this kiss was so much different than all of there others. He had one hand buried in her red hair and the other on her lower back, pulling her closer to him. She felt a tongue swipe at her lower lip and she opened her mouth, allowing him to quickly turn the kiss French.

Cassie had never been kissed like that. They stood there in the forest snogging, with Charlie holding Cassie up, while she clutched the front of his robes. When oxygen became necessary, they pulled apart, each breathing heavily.

"Wow," Cassie said with a small laugh.

Charlie smiled and ran his fingers through Cassie's hair, straightening it out so she didn't look like she had just been snogged.

"That was fun," said Charlie with a goofy smile.

Cassie just snorted in response and shook her head amusedly.

Charlie sighed, "We should probably get back into the castle," he said. The sun was already setting. "You don't want to be late to your family dinner."

Cassie nodded dejectedly and the two of them walked out of the forest and headed back up to the castle.

* * *

It was Saturday morning and Cassie walked down to the Great Hall alone as she had woken up late and both Will and Bri had already left.

She made her way to the Gryffindor table and squeezed in between Harry and Fred (or was it George?) "How are you feeling?" she asked her brother who was pale and nervous looking.

"Fine," he mumbled.

"Hmmm… Is that why you're not eating and look like you're about to throw up?" She asked, looking at Harry's plate that held two pieces of toast, one of which had been barely nibbled on.

Harry just glared at her and then at his plate.

"Harry," she said gently "you really don't need to be worried, it's your first every Quidditch match and if you lose or mess up then you'll do better next time. You love flying and you're great at it, worrying is pointless."

"Yeah, Come on Harry, Cassie's right," said Fred with a mischievous smirk.

"You need your strength after all – " said George

"Seekers are always the ones to get clobbered." Finished Fred.

"Thanks guys," said Harry with a glare.

"No problem," the two of them said at the same time, stuffing their mouths with sausages.

Cassie pulled out her wand and gently tapped it on her hand, staring at the twins with a smirk. "You realize that if anything happens to him I'll come after you right?" she said seriously.

Both Fred and George swallowed thickly and nodded, glancing at her wand.

"Good luck," said Cassie, turning to her brother with a kind smile. "You'll be fine," she said reassuringly and stood up, heading towards the Slytherin table.

She walked over to where Will was sitting, since Bri didn't appear to be in the Great Hall. He glanced up at her, looking her up and down before shaking his head and saying "no, absolutely not."

Cassie rolled her eyes and sat beside him, putting food on her plate.

"Are you going to wear that?" he asked astonished. "I thought we were friends Cassandra," he said seriously.

Cassie put down her utensils and turned to him, giving him her full attention. "Of course we are," she said with amusement in her voice.

"Obviously not," he said, crossing his arms in front of him and pouting slightly.

Cassie laughed, "That look is not becoming on you. I'm wearing Slytherin colors," she insisted, pointing to striped green and silver beanie cap.

Will just snorted and shook his head. "You're also wearing this!" he said grabbing the Gryffindor scarf that was around her neck.

Cassie shrugged and turned back to her food. "I also have a brother in Gryffindor, how do you expect me to choose?"

Will's frown gave way into a smile "house before blood, that's what I always say."

Cassie gave him an incredulous look; "I've never heard you say that… besides your sister is in the same house as you, so it's not like you can talk."

"Fine, have it your way. If I win though, you have to celebrate with us and you can't go feeling sorry for Harry," He said.

Cassie just smiled at him and leaned over so only he could hear her. "We both know you won't win. Harry's the youngest seeker in a century and the best since Charlie."

Will sent her a mock glare "Oh we will see Potter. It takes more than just a seeker to win a game."

The two of them went back to there meals and Cassie glanced around the hall noticing some of the parents that were there. People in the wizarding community were allowed to attend the Quidditch matches, but it was usually just parents of the players that showed up. She noticed that there were only parents at the Gryffindor table and was curious where the Slytherin parents were.

She was about to voice the question to Will when the Great Hall doors opened and Sirius Black walked in, glancing around the Gryffindor table and making his way towards Harry.

Cassie squeaked and put her hand up to cover her face.

"What are you doing?" asked Will.

"My godfather's here," she whispered, not that Sirius would be able to hear her from across the room in the crowded hall.

Will smirked at her "I hate to break it to you, but you're the only one with red hair in Slytherin. You're as noticeable as a fire truck."

Cassie glared at him. "Come on, there must be a way to escape the Hall without him noticing."

Will just shook his head, "I thought you were close with him… Why don't you want to see him?"

"It's not that," Cassie said quickly "He'll just find a way to embarrass me."

Will snorted "well in that case maybe I should call him over here," he said and he stood up ready to yell.

Cassie snapped her fingers quickly and before Will could utter a sound he was silenced.

He looked at her surprised, although he had seen her do some wandless magic, he had no idea how much control she had over it. Cassie was always very careful about using her wand so people didn't become suspicious.

Will sat back down and pouted in Cassie's direction. By 10:30 Cassie saw the Gryffindor team get up and leave the table and Cassie was pleased to see Sirius get up and walk to the head table. Only a few minutes later did the Slytherin wannabe captain, Marcus Flint, start telling the Slytherin team to head out to the locker rooms. Cassie cancelled the silencing spell she used on Will and said 'good luck,' before he followed his team out of the Great Hall, probably to put Flint in his place.

Cassie left shortly after, hoping to run into Bri or Julie on her way out. She figured she'd be fairly safe sitting in the Ravenclaw section since they supported both the lions and the snakes. When she walked onto the grounds she saw Charlie talking animatedly to Bill (much to her surprise). She hadn't even realized that he was in the country at the moment.

"Hi," Cassie said brightly when she made her way over to them.

"Hey little red!" Said Bill with a blinding smile.

Cassie wrinkled her nose, "I don't think you can call me red since you have red hair as well," she pointed out.

Bill shrugged "That's why I call you _little_ red."

Cassie laughed "whatever you say big red."

"So how has my dear little brother been treating you?" he asked with a knowing smirk.

"Good," Cassie said shyly, wanting to reach out and hold Charlie's hand, but refraining. "So why are you here?" asked Cassie, changing the topic.

Bill had a hurt look "You aren't happy to see me?"

Both Cassie and Charlie rolled their eyes. "He has quite a bit of vacation time saved up, so he's taking off this weekend to watch Fred and George play Quidditch and he's taking off a couple weeks during Winter Break," Charlie responded for his brother. Bill just nodded in affirmation.

"Hey! I've been looking for you everywhere!" said Bri, heading in their direction.

Cassie smiled at her friend, "well, I was in the dorm, then the Great Hall, and then here…"

Bri just shrugged, "Hi Professor Weasley," she said with a small smile.

"Hello Miss Wirth," Charlie said professionally.

Bri looked back at Cassie and snorted, "You do know that you aren't supposed to wear the colors of _both_ teams right?"

Cassie glared at her friend, "I couldn't decide whom I wanted to support," she said.

Bri just laughed, "That's okay, we'll sit in the Ravenclaw section."

"We're gonna go find a seat," said Charlie "I'll see you both later."

The girls nodded and waved goodbye as Bill and Charlie turned to head down to the Quidditch pitch. "Bye little red!" Bill yelled over his shoulder causing Cassie to blush as heads turned to look at her.

"Was that Professor Weasley's brother?" Bri asked, her eyes still looking towards the two men.

Cassie looked at her curiously "yeah that's Bill," she said. "Out of their entire family Bill and Charlie are the most attractive… Of course that could be because they are the only two that are actual men, other than Mister Weasley."

"Yeah…" mumbled Bri.

Cassie stood in front of her friend, forcing her to look at her instead of Bill. "I'll introduce you if you want…. After the game I mean."

Bri realized she had been staring and blushed brightly, looking away. "That's okay," she said quickly, making Cassie laugh.

The two of them made their way down the sloping lawn towards the Quidditch pitch. They had just reached the stands, but before Cassie could start walking up the stairs, she found that an arm being slung over her shoulders stopped her.

"I saw you in the Great Hall… You wouldn't be trying to escape me would you?"

Cassie turned "No, absolutely not… why would I want to escape you?" she asked sarcastically.

"Oh I don't know," said Sirius "maybe because you're worried I'll embarrass you?" he asked with a smirk, pulling Cassie into a very tight hug, giving her a very loud kiss on her temple. "I've missed my godbaby so much!" said Sirius loudly. Cassie could hear some chuckles coming from around her.

"Mutatio maroon," Cassie mumbled into Sirius chest, focusing her mind on his hair. The two of them heard some loud laughs and Cassie was able to pull apart. She laughed loudly when she saw Sirius' normal perfect black hair frizzy and maroon.

"What did you do to me?" he asked looking behind him, which is when Cassie noticed her father (professor Hudson) standing behind him, laughing his head off.

"Nothing, nothing," Cassie said quickly. "Bri and I are going to go sit now," she said, grabbing Bri's arm to drag her laughing friend up the stairs and over to the Ravenclaw section, leaving her laughing father and worried looking godfather behind her.

"How did you do that?" asked Bri when the two of them sat down.

"Do what?" Cassie responded, unsure of what she was talking about.

"How did you change his hair when your wand was in your pocket?" she asked, looking intently at Cassie.

Cassie just shrugged, "I didn't change his hair," she said, but Bri made it obvious that she didn't believe her.

"I've seen you do it before… when you aren't thinking about it, magic just happens around you… and it's not always when you're emotional." Bri said calmly.

"Not here," Cassie said more harshly than she intended. "We'll talk about it later okay?" she said, kindly ending the discussion.

"Okay," said Bri understandingly.

* * *

The game had been going smoothly, Cassie was on the edge of her seat the entire time, her eyes flickering back and forth between Will and Harry.

After a while, something strange started happening to Harry's broom. He was jerking back and forth; it appeared that he had lost control. Cassie sat up straight, on the edge of her seat, looking quickly to the teacher/visitor section she saw that both her father and Sirius were on the edge of their seats as well, wands out and eyes glued to Harry, mouthing something over and over again.

Cassie got out of her seat and without saying a word to Bri, she was making her way out of the stands. She was passing the Gryffindor section, when someone grabbed her sleeve, pulling her down into a seat.

"It's Snape!" came the small voice of Hermione. "I've read about curses and Snape isn't blinking," she said quickly.

Cassie looked back over to the teacher's section and noticed that indeed Snape was not blinking, but he appeared to be mouthing the same thing as James and Sirius. She looked back at Harry and even in her worried state gave a small smile at the sight of Will trying to help Harry off of his broom. She frowned when every time Will got close to Harry, his broom would jerk further up in the air. Will backed off and Cassie saw the broom give tremulous lurch and saw Harry fall off the broom, barely holding onto it with one hand, the twins circling down below him incase he fell.

Cassie knew that there was no way a student was doing this, the person had to be powerful enough to hold the curse even with three powerful wizards chanting the counter curse.

"Come on!" said Hermione who was standing in front of her, grabbing her arm.

Cassie stood up and followed her. They ran to the back of the teachers' section and Hermione started plowing her way through the professors. Cassie saw a couple of professors fall or jump away when Hermione ran into them.

"Hermione," Cassie hissed getting her attention. "Walk that way and get the teachers to break their eye contact," she said pointing to her left.

Hermione looked hesitant, glancing back towards Snape, but nodded and ran off to the left. Cassie went to the right.

"Excuse me, 'scuse me," Cassie said, shoving the adults _hard_ as she walked past them. She glanced towards Harry and saw him barely hanging on to the broom, so she started moving quicker, digging her elbows into people's backs and legs.

"Miss Potter! What are you doing?" hissed Professor Vector. Cassie ignored him and continued to plow through the crowd. She was nearing her professor Snape when she glanced at Harry and saw him climbing back onto the broom. She sighed in relief and walked forward a couple more rows, plopping herself by Sirius and her father, who were both looking relieved.

Their relief didn't last long, they gasped when they saw Harry flying straight towards the ground, rolling off his broom looking like he was going to throw up. When they saw the snitch fall out of his mouth, they looked at him in shock and watched as the game ended in complete confusion.

Sirius and Cassie, followed closely by James (who was trying not to freak out like a worried parent) ran down to the Quidditch pitch and Sirius pulled Harry into a hug after his team had released him.

'Congratulations' had gone around and Hermione and Ron had joined Harry, whispering about what happened with his broom. James and Sirius were also whispering and Cassie assumed it was about the same thing.

"Miss Potter, Miss Granger!" Came the stern voice of Professor McGonagall.

Cassie and Hermione shared a glance and turned towards Professor McGonagall, James, Sirius, Harry, and Ron had turned to listen in, hearing the annoyance in her voice.

"Do you care to tell me what the two of you were doing running into your professors without regard for their well-being?"

Hermione looked at Cassie with worried eyes.

"They were in my way professor," said Cassie seriously. She almost laughed at the way that Hermione's eyes widened in surprise.

"Miss Potter!" said McGonagall loudly, several other people turning their heads to listen in.

Cassie leaned forward so only McGonagall could hear her.

"Only a full grown wizard could have cursed Harry's broom like that. We were just breaking their eye contact before Harry fell," she whispered.

McGonagall gave her a stern and unreadable look. "Five points from Slytherin and Gryffindor for your lack of regard for others," she said before turning and walking back towards the castle.

Cassie watched as Harry gave Sirius a quick hug before running off with Ron and Hermione towards Hagrid's hut.

Will made his way over to her rolling his eyes. "Flint is an idiot," he said when he reached her.

Cassie smiled gratefully at him before throwing her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug. She briefly felt him stiffen, before relaxing in the hug. "Thank you," she said quietly.

"I didn't do anything," Will said with a blush after they had pulled apart.

"You tried to save him," she said.

Will just shrugged and Cassie could tell he was uncomfortable with the praise. Cassie felt someone sling their arm over her shoulders and resisted rolling her eyes.

"Hi, I'm Sirius Black… Senior auror, skilled fighter, Cassandra's godfather," he said, glaring at Will.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Will Wirth," he said confidently, holding out his hand for Sirius to shake. Sirius shook his hand, but continued to glare. "I like your hair sir. Although I would have liked it more if it was green," said Will, gesturing to Sirius' hair.

Sirius turned his glare to Cassie, "Yes, _somebody_ thought it would be amusing for me to wear my godson's colors," he said.

Cassie looked at him innocently and nodded, "That was a good idea."

"He must really love the color because he hasn't changed it back yet," said James, joining the conversation.

Sirius just glared at James. "If you'll excuse us Will, I'll be taking my dear Goddaughter back up to the castle," he said guiding her back up to the school. Cassie waved goodbye to Will who was laughing silently.

"I can't change it back," said Sirius quietly, as though he didn't want to admit it.

James snorted, "He's tried about thirty times."

"That's too bad," said Cassie thoughtfully. "You could always dye it with muggle hair dye… it would help get rid of the gray."

Sirius spluttered and scoffed. "I do NOT have gray hair!"

"Well not right now you don't," said Cassie as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Right now you have Maroon hair. It almost looks like mine," she added, holding up a strand of her own hair next to his.

James burst out laughing and Sirius' lips twitched while he tried to hold back a laugh.

"Will you change it back? Please?" Sirius said with puppy dog eyes and a quivering lip.

Cassie looked at him un-amused "Did you try the counter spell?" she asked.

"Of course."

Cassie bit her lip looking a little guilty.

"Cassie?"

"I'm not _entirely_ sure how to turn it back. I only know the counter spell and well if that didn't work…." She trailed of with a shrug.

Sirius' eyes widened, "What do you mean?" he asked, mimicking her shrugging motion.

"I don't know how to undo it," she mumbled, not making eye contact.

Sirius turned to glare at James, "This is your fault!" he said.

James looked confused "How is this my fault?"

"You made her!" he said

James scoffed, "If I recall correctly, you were incredibly excited when you held her for the first time! Besides Moony is the one who showed her the spell."

Cassie brushed off her robes as though there was something on them. "Well, I'm going to head inside… I'll see you both later," she said taking a few steps towards the Slytherin common room. She didn't make it far when she felt a hand grip each of her arms and pulled her back. She just looked innocently at her father and godfather.

James sighed "You probably put a signature on it without realizing it…" he suggested.

"A what?" asked Cassie.

"A signature. All magical people have signatures… it takes a lot of power to place it on a person, but it basically means that you can lock the spell on someone and only you can take it off."

"Ohhhh," said Cassie turning back towards Sirius. She raised her wand and said the counter spell and Sirius' hair returned to normal. "Well my work here is done," she said clapping her hands together.


	24. Changes

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Changes

November had gone quickly and December was in full swing. It was only a week until Winter break and everyone in the school were immensely excited. Decorations were being put up all around Hogwarts, an incredibly large Christmas tree was placed in the Great Hall.

Cassie had been so focused on school that she hardly noticed anything else. Her private lessons were getting more and more difficult. Dumbledore was now having her practice dueling without her wand every time they met and Cassie was finding it more and more draining every time, and had the added disappointment of not much improvement.

She had also been spending a lot of time in the library doing her research on becoming an animagus. Her father had decided that he didn't want her to begin practicing the transformation process until her 17th birthday, when she would come into her majority. He said that he wouldn't let her drink the potion until then, because he didn't trust her not to start practicing on her own, at which Cassie rolled her eyes, knowing full well that he was right. There was no way she would wait for him if she had access to that potion early.

Her lessons with Flitwick, learning the patronus charm and her lessons with Charlie had been the most successful; at least that's what Cassie thought. Although her patronus didn't have a form yet, she could consistently produce a powerful mist.

Cassie was excited for break. She was missing Remus and her family. Plus, she would be visiting Florence for an entire week and she was beyond excited for that. The school year had been going surprisingly well, other than a few hiccups.

The one thing she wasn't very excited about was being apart from Charlie. It wasn't that they wouldn't be able to see each other, but they wouldn't be able to act like a couple. She was sure the Weasleys would come to Potter Manor and they would go to the Burrow, but she and Charlie wouldn't be able to hold hands or kiss, at least not until they escaped to Florence for Lucy's party. Cassie was sad, sad that the two of them couldn't be public. Of course she understood it, but it was still difficult. She was also beginning to feel increasingly guilty about keeping it from her parents, especially since her relationship with them had been improving greatly.

It was the Saturday before the last week before break and Cassie was on her way to Hogsmeade, alone. She was supposed to be meeting her mother although she would really be meeting Mrs. Hudson. If anyone asked, Sirius and the Hudson's thought she could use a woman's touch in her life and since they were such good friends now, it shouldn't be questioned.

That was another thing that was beginning to get on Cassie's nerves. There were so many secrets and lies. She didn't like having to sneak around to see her father and mother or having to claim that they were just good friends of her Godfathers. It was annoying. She wanted to be able to see her parents exactly as they were and talk to them without others questioning them. She wanted the wizarding world to know that James and Lily Potter were alive and Cassie and Harry had two other siblings. They were essentially a real family. She knew that was selfish and she knew it was supposedly 'dangerous' or could be dangerous in the future. It was just difficult trying to keep your lies straight. She also felt guilty for all of the lies that she's told to her friends, both in England and in Florence.

She knew that she and Remus had also lied about their true identities, but that was different. They changed names, not their looks. They were the same people, but made it difficult for anyone to track them. Black was a common enough name in the muggle world that no one would think twice. But with her parents it was different. They had changed _everything_ about themselves. James and Lily didn't even exist anymore except for in very small circles.

She sighed and pulled her scarf tighter around her face. It was snowing, which was to be expected in England in December. Snow was one thing that Cassie didn't like. It made your feet and clothes completely wet and chilled you to the bone. They definitely did not have snow like this in Florence. If it were going to snow there, it would snow maybe a centimeter.

Cassie walked into the three broomsticks where she was supposed to meet her mother and found that she was actually early, so she sat by the window and watched the snow fall.

"Have you been waiting long?" asked Lily, bringing Cassie out of her musings.

Cassie shook her head and smiled at her mom. She grabbed her purse and her jacket and the two of them headed back out into the snow, making their way towards the bookstore.

"How have your last couple months been?" Lily asked. "Fight any more trolls?"

Cassie snorted and shook her head, "other than the Quidditch incident, it's been fairly normal."

Lily frowned at her "What Quidditch incident?"

Cassie glanced up quickly, shock written all over her face. Had her father not told his wife about it?

"Um…" she hesitated "it was nothing," she said quickly.

"Cassandra," Lily said warningly, her eyes narrowed.

"Well… Harry's broom was sort of cursed, but he was fine."

"What do you mean his broom was cursed? Why didn't I hear about this?" Lily asked, her eyes flashing.

Cassie shrugged "I don't know, I thought you'd know… It happened at the last Quidditch match, but Harry was fine and he caught the snitch." She said quickly.

Lily sighed and shook her head "You're father…" she trailed off exasperated. Cassie smothered a laugh, feeling only a little bad for her dad who would probably have an earful later on.

"So… how are Liam and Emma?" Cassie asked, wanting to change the topic from dangerous territory.

Lily smiled at her daughter knowingly, "they're fine, Emma is enjoying school like always and Liam is causing trouble like always," she said fondly.

"And how are Uncle Moony and Aunt Nat?" Cassie asked hesitantly, not making eye contact.

Lily seemed to hesitate for a few moments. "They're doing better. I think Natalie has worn down Remus a little… I think he wants to talk to you about something when school gets out."

Cassie looked up quickly and noted her mother's sad expression.

"Well what is it? Why hasn't he said anything before? We talk twice a week!" Cassie said worriedly.

Lily opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it and closed it again quickly. "It's nothing you need to worry about," she said, patting her daughters' shoulder.

"He wants to talk to me about something that he can't tell me over the mirror, but you think it's not something I need to worry about?" Cassie asked disbelieving.

Lily just shook her head "I shouldn't have brought it up… you'll have to wait for him." She said and Cassie could hear the finality in her voice, it was no longer up for discussion.

Cassie decided to enjoy the rest of the day with her mum and figured she could always pester Remus about it that evening. It wasn't her mother's fault he was keeping secrets.

They had been shopping for a while. They visited Zonko's, Honeydukes, and the bookstore where Cassie had purchased gifts for Harry, Liam, James, Sirius, Remus, and Lily (without her seeing of course). The only people she had left were Emma and Charlie. She wasn't entirely sure if Charlie was planning on getting her anything, but she wanted to get him something special for Christmas. It was after all their first Christmas as a couple, even if they weren't spending it together.

"Why don't we try the jewelry store?" suggested Lily. "You could always get Emma a bracelet or something, she'd love that. Grant it, she'll probably love anything you get her."

"Okay," said Cassie and the two of them headed into the only jewelry store in Hogsmeade.

Cassie looked around for a while and found a small charm bracelet that she thought Emma would like. Those had been incredibly popular when she was in middle school. She had asked the store clerk for it and when she was pulling it out, another bracelet caught her eye. This one had a thick, braided, brown band. The two ends were clasped together by a silver dragon.

She glanced back at her mother who was looking at something at the other end of the store. "Can I have that one as well?" she asked pointing to the bracelet.

"Of course," she said, pulling it out and wrapping it. "You have excellent taste. The dragon's eyes change color depending on the mood of their loved one."

Cassie nodded gratefully, the voice in the back of her head hoping that it changed color depending on her _own_ mood. Cassie had paid for the two bracelets and had turned to leave the store only to run right into her mother.

"Ready?" she asked, looking at Cassie curiously.

"Yep," she responded, not making eye contact and heading out of the store.

"Do you want to go to the three broomsticks before you head back to school?" Lily asked.

Cassie nodded, "Sure."

When they entered the Three Broomsticks, Cassie was reminded that it was the last Hogsmeade visit before Christmas for the Professors as well. Professor Hudson was there along with Charlie, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, and Professor Burbage. Cassie felt a flare of jealousy when she saw Professor Burbage obviously flirting with _her_ boyfriend. She didn't know Professor Burbage very well, they had only met briefly, but she knew she was the muggle studies professor and she had only started teaching the year previously.

"Should we go say hello?" Lily asked looking at her daughter suspiciously.

Cassie shook her head "I see them every day."

Lily laughed "Well why don't you go get us butterbeer and I'll go say hello really quickly," she suggested, handing Cassie a couple of galleons.

Cassie nodded her agreement and made her way towards Madame Rosmerta, but not without a quick glance back at Charlie to see Professor Burbage put her hand on Charlie's forearm, giggling about something.

"Two butterbeers please," she said, not looking at her surroundings. Madame Rosmerta nodded and wandered off to get them.

"So tell me Potter, do you care about the rules at all?"

Cassie cringed and turned to look at Birch, she hadn't even seen him in here. "What do you want?"

Birch shrugged and leaned against the bar, facing Cassie. "I find it ironic that you get along so well with the Professors, yet you break so many rules."

"I don't break rules."

"No? Tell me, are you smart or is the only reason you get good grades because you're sleeping with a professor?"

Cassie looked at him with disgust a flash of anger in her eyes.

"Are you sleeping with more than one? You must be…" he said arrogantly, with a sly smirk on his face. "Is that why you're spending time with Mrs. Hudson? Planning on joining their marriage? How about Weasley? You two seem awfully close as well."

Cassie had enough and talking about how close she and Charlie were hit too close to home. Grabbing a large pitcher of ice-cold water from the bar, she turned it over on his head. Birch gasped loudly, as did several other people from near them who were hit with the cold water.

"You disgusting pig. Keep your perverted thoughts to yourself and stay the hell away from me," she said before turning to walk away. She realized that the two of them had gotten quite a bit of attention and her face flushed slightly with embarrassment. She walked over to where the Professors were. She saw both of her parents looking surprised and a little worried and Charlie looked like he was trying to hold back a laugh.

"Thank you for today, I had a good time, but I think I'm going to head back up to the castle," Cassie told her mother.

Lily nodded "I'll walk you to the gates," she said and Cassie knew that it was an excuse to question her about what happened.

"Yeah Potter! Get some!" came the annoying voice of Birch. He was now standing with his friends, completely dry. They were the same friends she had seen him here with during the last Hogsmeade visit (Ivy, Danny, and some girl she didn't know).

Without hesitation, Cassie summoned her wand to her hand and threw a powerful bat-bogey hex at him, hitting her target.

"Miss Potter! There is no magic outside of Hogwarts. You should not be cursing your classmates in a pub, no matter how much they may deserve it," Said Professor McGonagall, but Cassie wasn't paying very much attention. Birch had run out of the pub, followed closely by Ivy. Danny and his girlfriend gathered their stuff together and as they were leaving Cassie noticed that Danny was laughing. He turned to look at her and gave her wink before the two of them followed their friends.

Cassie turned back to Professor McGonagall who was looking as stern as ever. "I'm sorry professor, what did you say?" she asked. James snorted and Lily hit his arm, but she appeared to be trying to hide a smile as well.

"twenty points from Slytherin. You are a sixth year, you should be setting an example, not starting fights," she said sternly, but her voice was softer than it had been before.

"Yes Professor," Cassie said, but it was obvious that she didn't care a whole lot. She glanced towards Charlie who wasn't even bothering to hide a smile and then to Professor Burbage who gave her a sympathetic look before trying to gain Charlie's attention again. It was then that Cassie noticed how uncomfortable Charlie looked sitting next to her. Cassie had her hands in the pocket of her jacket and with a small flick of her fingers, the glass of wine that Burbage had been holding tipped sideways, spilling its contents all over her clothes.

"Should we go?" Lily asked quickly and Cassie was taken back by the knowing look in her mothers' eyes.

"Yeah, goodbye professors," she said as she headed for the door.

"So what happened back there with that Slytherin boy?" her mother asked.

"He was just being stupid… Nothing I can't handle," Cassie said honestly.

Lily looked at her daughter searchingly as they continued walking, but nodded in acceptance. "If it becomes something you can't handle, be sure to come to one of us… or one of your professors," she said and Cassie nodded her consent.

When they reached the end of Hogsmeade the two of them stopped to face each other.

"How long have you two been together?" Lily asked.

Cassie tried to look confused "I don't know what you mean…" she said all though she knew exactly what her mother was talking about.

"You and Charlie, how long have you been together?"

"We're not – "

"You've been talking about him all day. How fascinating his lessons are, how much the two of you have learned. Then when we went into the Three Broomsticks you were glaring at Charity, I thought you were going to kill her with your eyes. I also noticed how uncomfortable Charlie seemed. Charlie is a very confident man and very laid back, so he normally wouldn't be uncomfortable with someone like Charity who is incredibly pretty flirting with him. So I could assume that's because Charlie is perfectly happy with someone else," she said logically. "Plus," she started softer than before "he looks at you the same way your father looks at me… the same way Remus _used_ to look at Natalie and the same way that Arthur looks at Molly."

Cassie was only momentarily surprised at how observant her mother was. She supposed she shouldn't have been, her mother had been one of the smartest witches of her generation.

"We started dating at the end of September… Uncle Moony knows and Bill knows, a couple of my friends have guessed, but that's about it," she said hesitantly, looking at her feet.

"I'm not surprised," her mother said in a supportive voice. "You two got really close over the summer. I had multiple discussions with both Remus and James about the possibility of the two of you dating."

Cassie looked up surprised. "Remus never said… What did you talk about?"

"Just that you two might date and that you'd be good for each other. However, none of us really thought that he would ask you out before the start of next summer when he was no longer your professor," she said with a slight grimace.

"That was the plan originally," Cassie said. "The whole waiting thing just didn't really work out."

Lily nodded and smiled "So Remus knows, but I'm assuming that your father does not?"

Cassie shook her head jerkily. "I was afraid he'd castrate him before shipping him off to Azkaban."

Lily laughed and nodded, "I honestly wouldn't be surprised. But you do have to tell him," she said seriously. "He's your father and he deserves to know."

Cassie looked like she disagreed, "He'll make Charlie loose his job," she said hesitantly.

"Not necessarily, your father is rash and hot headed. He'll react out of anger when you first tell him, but when he's had time to cool down, he'll realize that there's not a huge age difference between you and Charlie and he'll remember that Charlie is his favorite Weasley."

Cassie laughed, "Charlie is dad's favorite Weasley?"

Lily nodded and laughed as well. "They've always had some of the best discussions. He really likes the twins as well because they remind him of him and Sirius. I think there's just something unique about Charlie that makes him stand out from the rest.

"Look, I know you're scared to tell him, but I suggest you do it over break. He won't be close enough to Charlie to do any real damage and it'll give him some time to cool off before he see's him again."

Cassie nodded although she was dreading telling him. "You approve though right?" she asked in a small voice.

Lily smiled kindly and nodded. "Charlie's a great man," she hesitated before grimacing. "Just be careful… I was only a year older than you when… well when I got pregnant and – "

"Mum!" Cassie said, desperately not wanting to have this conversation. "Charlie and I have never… We've kissed that's all!" she insisted and saw her mother smile in relief.

* * *

Later that night Cassie was sitting in bed thinking about the day she had. For the most part it was a good day, she enjoyed her time with her mother. She was even relieved that her mum now knew about Charlie. She couldn't deny though that she was nervous. All day she had been dreading what it was that Remus had been wanting to talk to her about.

Making the decision that she really couldn't wait to find out, she pulled out her mirror.

"Remus," she whispered.

She didn't have to wait long before Remus' face appeared in the mirror.

"Cass? How was your day?" he asked casually.

"Fine," she said shortly. She hesitated "I was talking to mum today and she said that you were going to want to talk to me about something."

Remus stiffened, "Yeah… Cass, you're out of school in a week, I was thinking when you got back we could go get coffee and talk."

Cassie shook her head, "What is it? You know I'm not a patient person."

Remus sighed, "I want to talk about this in person Cass."

"Then come to Hogwarts!"

Remus looked at her sadly, "You know I can't."

"Well what is it?" Cassie said frustrated. She knew that whatever it was would upset her.

"Wait," said Cassie suddenly. "Where are you?" Whenever she called him, he was almost always in the same spot. Usually the table in the pool house or the library in Potter Manor.

Remus sighed and Cassie noticed how old he looked. He looked as though he had aged ten years since they had moved back to England. "Natalie and I got an apartment," he said quietly.

Cassie felt her heart drop. He had moved, he promised her he wouldn't leave, but he did.

"It's only while you're in school," he went on. "While you're here for Christmas and Easter, I'll be living in the Manor, it's just while you're living at school and maybe a little during the summer."

Cassie barely heard a thing he said. It didn't matter. She felt tears fill her eyes and couldn't stop a couple from falling onto her lap.

"I'll see you next week," she said quickly.

"Cassie don't – "

Cassie didn't hear what he was going to say because she ended the call, throwing the mirror face down on her bed. She wiped at her eyes roughly and stood up, walking over to her trunk and pulling out the invisibility cloak.

She wrapped it around herself and left the privacy of her curtains. Her roommates were all fast asleep, so she passed them quietly, heading down the staircase into the common room, and out into the hall.

She walked around aimlessly, unsure of what she wanted. All she could think was that Remus had moved out. She knew she shouldn't be surprised; she had been worried about it when they first moved to Potter Manor. She was his wife and it wasn't like Cassie was his real daughter.

She wasn't sure what had happened, it seemed like only a month ago that Remus was upset enough with Natalie to consider a divorce, but now he had decided to choose Natalie over Cassie? Cassie had never asked him to choose! She couldn't help but feel anger bubbling in her stomach. He had _promised_ her he wouldn't leave.

She hadn't been looking where she was going, but before she knew it she heard voices from a short ways away from her. Voices that were headed her way. She jumped into the nearest empty classroom and heard what sounded like Snape and Filch pass the door, mumbling about idiot children being out when they should be.

Cassie sighed in relief when she couldn't hear the voices anymore and looked around at the room she had landed in. She hadn't ever been in this classroom before and it appeared to be unused. She was about to leave when a something glimmered out of the corner of her eye. She turned and found what looked to be a very large mirror. She walked over to the mirror and stood directly in front of it. She gasped at what she saw, turning around quickly to see if anyone was in the room with her. The mirror showed Cassie standing with her family, but there was something different. The Cassie in the mirror looked different than herself. She looked more relaxed, happier. There was no darkness. Another thing Cassie noticed about the reflection was that Natalie wasn't in it.

She kept turning around as though expecting to see her family there, but the room was empty aside from herself. She saw engravings around the mirror, but didn't have the slightest idea what they said. She kept staring at the mirror, staring at her hearts desire.

She wasn't sure how long she had been standing there, but after a while she tore her eyes from the mirror and left the room.

She had calmed down quite a bit, but there were still a few stray tears falling down her face. She didn't want to go back to her dorm so she made her way to Charlie's living quarters.

She hadn't stayed in his bed since the last Hogsmeade trip and had never stayed with him over night, but she desperately wanted his comfort. When she made it to his room, she slipped off her shoes and the invisibility cloak; pulling back the covers she crawled into the bed. She blushed brightly when she saw that he was only wearing boxers.

She crawled into his unresisting arms, pressing a small kiss to the corner of his mouth. She wriggled around to get comfortable. She felt Charlie move, tightening his arms.

"Cass?" he said quietly, confused.

"You won't leave right? You won't choose Burbage over me?" She asked in a shaky voice.

"What? Cass, of course not. Why would you even think that?"

Cassie didn't respond, so Charlie pulled her back a little ways, grabbing his wand and turning on a light. He saw the tear stains on her face and briefly brushed his fingers over her face.

"Is this about today? Cass, you're the only person I want to be with."

Cassie nodded, but didn't make eye contact. "Moony left. He got a new place with Natalie," she whispered.

"What?" he asked surprised.

"He moved… he promised he'd stay with me, but he moved," she said dejectedly.

"I'm so sorry," he said pulling her tight to his chest. He couldn't say more since he didn't entirely understand what had happened. "I'll never leave Cass. I love you," he said honestly.

Cassie felt her throat tighten. "I love you too," she whispered and she meant it. Normally she would have thought it impossible to fall in love with someone in only a few months, but now that she was with Charlie, she couldn't imagine her life without him.

It didn't take long for Cassie to fall asleep, in the comfort of Charlie's arms.


	25. Talking it Out Again

**Merry Christmas!**

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Talking it Out Again

Cassie woke up to the feeling of being shaken.

"Cassie… Cass, your dad's looking for you…."

Cassie blearily opened her eyes and looked into the deep ocean blue eyes of Charlie. "What?" she asked tiredly.

"You're dad's looking for you," he said, giving her a small smile. Cassie blushed when she realized that he still didn't have a shirt on, but he had put on pajama bottoms.

"It's Sunday," she said "What does he want?"

Charlie shrugged "he said he asked Bri where you were and she said your bed hadn't been slept in. He's been looking for you since… I think Remus called him." He added hesitantly.

Cassie sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Charlie sat beside her and pulled her into his arms, running his hands through her hair, while she buried her head in his chest.

"I don't want to talk to him," she said. "I'd rather stay here all day."

"As much as I'd love for you to stay and for us to cuddle all day, if he doesn't find you soon he'll probably call the Aurors."

Cassie sighed, but knew he was right. She crawled out of bed and realized that she was still in pajamas and didn't have a change of clothes with her. She slipped back on her shoes and grabbed the invisibility cloak. She figured she could make her way back to the room and get ready there. Before she could throw on the cloak Charlie, who was sitting at the edge of the bed, pulled her back into his arms.

"You can't disappear without saying goodbye," he said jokingly. Before she could respond he pulled her into a loving kiss.

"Charlie," Cassie said breathily "I have morning breath."

Charlie obviously didn't care because he leaned forward and claimed her lips once more. They kissed for a few minutes and when they pulled apart they rested their foreheads against each other.

"Everything will be okay you know? It'll all work out. You have so many people who love you, including Remus. That'll never change," he said gently.

Cassie nodded, but she was still worried.

"I love you Cass," Charlie said, kissing Cassie on the nose.

"I love you too Char," She responded, returning the gesture and kissing him on the nose as well.

They pulled apart and Charlie walked Cassie to the door. She threw on the invisibility cloak before making her way back to her dorm.

* * *

Cassie had made it back to her room, showered and gotten dressed. When she left the bathroom she came face to face with Bri who was sitting on her bed.

"Where've you been?" she asked calmly. "You weren't here when I woke up and Professor Hudson was looking for you… said he had a message from your godfather."

"I couldn't sleep last night so I went for a walk," She responded instantly. It was obvious that Bri didn't believe her.

"You went for a walk? You don't look exhausted so you must have slept at some point." She pointed out.

Cassie sighed "okay yes, I slept."

"Where?"

Cassie had a feeling that Bri knew a lot more than she let on. She just shrugged in response.

"With a boy?" she asked with a smirk.

Cassie blushed, but didn't respond.

"Maybe with a Professor?"

Cassie sighed, "Please don't say anything… Nobody knows and I don't want people to think I'm some sort of… slut or anything."

"Cassie," said Bri exasperated "I haven't said anything yet have I? I've known you've liked Professor Weasley since school started… He winked at you at the welcoming feast remember? It's obvious that you two know each other outside of school, so I definitely don't think you're a slut and neither do Will or Julie."

"Julie knows?" Cassie asked surprised.

Bri rolled her eyes, "We're your friends, and we're supposed to notice things like that. It's okay though, we won't say anything."

"Thanks," Cassie said, sitting beside Bri on the bed. "I like him a lot and have for a while. It'll be nice to be able to talk to you about him," she said honestly. It really was a relief to know her friends were aware. She had a feeling they knew for a while, but they had never actually discussed it.

"Maybe next time you could let us know though… It'll be easier for us to make something up for you."

Cassie laughed and agreed.

"So did you two… you know, sleep together?" Bri asked hesitantly.

Cassie's eyes widened and she shook her head "Just in the literal sense. I didn't have the best talk with my uncle last night and I wanted to see him… We haven't done _that_ yet. We probably won't for a while." She said shyly, a blush spread across her face.

Bri just laughed in response. Her smile turned into a look of curiosity. "Professor Hudson and your godfather are friends right? He seems to worry an awful lot about you," she said.

Cassie tensed momentarily "oh um, yeah he's friends with my godfather."

"There's more," Bri stated. "How many secrets do you have?" she asked jokingly, but Cassie could see the seriousness behind the question.

Cassie just shook her head.

"Come on Cass, are you dating him as well?" she said jokingly.

Cassie blanched, that question was far too close to what Birch was saying the previous day. "No!" she said loudly, a look of disgust on her face.

"Cassie. I was just joking." Bri said defensively, surprised at Cassie's outburst.

"Birch said the same thing to me yesterday. Is that what it seems like?"

"No!" Bri insisted. "If anything he seems to care about you like a father would," she said.

Cassie froze.

"What is it?" Bri asked, noticing the change in Cassie.

Cassie grabbed her wand and put it in her back pocket. "I should probably go," she said, not making eye contact.

"No, please talk to me. What is it with Professor Hudson?"

Cassie looked at her friend. She hadn't known Bri for long, but she trusted her. Bri had done absolutely nothing to break her trust, but was this something that Cassie could trust her with? She was incredibly clever and she probably would keep searching for an answer until she found it.

"He is my father," Cassie said quietly.

Bri looked at her with a look of disbelief. "What do you mean?"

"He's my dad. Niall Hudson is my dad. Isabelle is my mum."

"You mean they adopted you?" Bri asked, not understanding.

Cassie shook her head. "They are James and Lily Potter."

Bri shook her head "but James and Lily Potter died. They were killed by You-Know-Who. It was a huge story! Harry was the only survivor of the killing curse, your mum died to save him." She couldn't possibly believe what it was that Cassie was telling her. Then again, Cassie had also supposedly died that night.

Cassie just shook her head "They weren't there that night. It was just Harry and I. The reporters had the wrong information, they believed my mum and dad had died and they never bothered to correct them. They figured there were still many death eaters that would be after them and so they stuck with the story that they had 'died.'"

"If they weren't there then how did Harry survive that curse?" she asked, still wearing a look of disbelief.

Cassie shook her head "I honestly don't remember what happened that night, but apparently _I_ died for him… Voldemort had never intended on killing me, so I didn't die."

Bri's mouth was open in shock. "So were you in hiding as well?" she asked quietly.

Cassie shook her head, her eyes saddened, "I was kidnapped, by Bellatrix Lestrange, I escaped when I was nine. I didn't know my parents were still alive until the beginning of summer."

"Which is why you suddenly reappeared? Because they wanted you to live with them?" Cassie saw realization and belief spreading across Bri's face.

"How did Bellatrix get you though? Why didn't she get Harry as well?"

Cassie shrugged "I have no idea. I know that they were expecting me, when Bellatrix brought me to their manor she said 'the expected guest has arrived.' She probably didn't know where Harry was."

"But if they were expecting you, wouldn't they know that your parents weren't there? Wouldn't they know that you-know-who hadn't killed them?"

Cassie shook her head "The only people who knew my parents weren't there were the two of them, my godfather, me, Harry, Voldemort, and Peter Pettigrew. Pettigrew disappeared that night, no one's seen hid nor hair of him since, therefore he wouldn't have told his death eater friends that James and Lily were alive. When I was kidnapped they knew that Harry was alive, but they didn't realize that he had been in the room they took me from. I can almost guarantee they would try to get revenge on my parents or Harry if they believed they were touchable."

Bri surprised Cassie by hugging her tightly. "No wonder you keep so many secrets… your life is so complicated," she said quietly.

Cassie laughed, "My family has gotten tangled in lies. That's what makes it so complicated."

"No wonder Professor Hudson always seems worried about you. You're his daughter," she said, slightly awed.

Cassie nodded with a grimace. "You promise you won't say anything? Not even to Will or Julie?" she asked.

"I Promise," Bri, said honestly. "You can trust me."

And Cassie did.

* * *

Cassie found her father twenty minutes later out on the grounds. He had been standing by the Black Lake. Cassie saw his frown drop into a look of relief when he saw her.

"Where have you been?" he asked worriedly.

"I got up late," she said nonchalantly.

"Bri said you weren't in the dorm."

Cassie shrugged "Bri knows who you are." She said abruptly changing the subject.

"What do you mean?"

"I told her you were my dad. She had been asking a bunch of questions and I didn't want to keep lying to her," she said exhaustedly.

James nodded "Do you trust her?"

"I do," Cassie said, looking her father directly in his eyes. James looked at her searchingly then nodded.

"Okay, that's fine then. It'll be good for you to have a friend here to talk about that stuff with."

Cassie huffed "Why can't you just come clean? Tell everyone who you are?"

James looked at her surprised "I didn't realize this upset you so much."

"Of course it's upsetting! We're living a lie! Nobody can know that my parents are alive. I lie to almost everyone I meet. Potter Manor has so much protection that death eaters can't even get in there anyways!"

"Okay, Cass calm down," James said softly. "Your mother and I have discussed it. We've talked about telling everyone the truth. You're right, death eaters aren't a huge threat right now. We didn't do it before because we didn't have you. It was just Harry and at the time it was safer. Ever since you've come back, your mother and I have considered telling the truth because we believe that you will be safer if everyone knew we were alive. Even if Voldemort were to return."

"Oh…" Cassie said guiltily. She hadn't realized that her parents had agreed with her.

"I'm sorry it's been so frustrating. Believe me, there are so many times that I'd like to worry about you and your brother in public and embarrass you in front of everyone."

Cassie snorted; maybe it wouldn't be good for everyone to know professor Hudson was James Potter.

"If we did tell everyone, we'd probably wait until the summer," he said and Cassie nodded.

"Sorry," Cassie said, looking at her shoes.

"It's alright… I should have mentioned it to you." He hesitated before bringing up the topic that he really wanted to speak to her about. "Remus called me last night in the middle of the night. He was worried about you."

Cassie stiffened "It doesn't matter," she said coldly.

James eyes widened in surprise at the tone of her voice. "Cassie, he wants to talk to you about this. He had his reasons for moving with her, but he's coming back for break. It won't seem any different."

Cassie shook her head "I don't care dad. He can do what he wants."

"Cassie –" he started, but Cassie cut across him.

"I. Don't. Care." She said firmly. "It's Sunday, I was gone all day yesterday and I have homework to get done. I'll see you later" she said and she turned, walking back up the hill, ignoring the call from her dad.

* * *

Cassie had effectively avoided everyone in her family for the remainder of the week. She spent all of her time with Bri or with Charlie. James kept trying to corner her, but she would always come up with a reason to need to leave. Remus kept calling her name in the mirror, but Cassie ignored that as well. He had even sent a couple of letters, but Cassie threw them in her trunk without even reading them. She realized that she was probably being dramatic and that maybe Remus had a good reason and maybe it wouldn't be any different, but she couldn't help feeling like she had been deserted. Natalie very obviously didn't like Cassie, how long would it be before Remus ditched her all together?

After a lengthy goodbye to Charlie, Cassie had made it onto the Hogwarts Express, heading back in the direction of London. She sat with Bri and Will who were also going home for Christmas. It appeared that most people were going home for the holidays.

When the train pulled into the station both Will and Bri had to basically drag Cassie from her seat.

"Come on, it'll be fine," said Will, pushing a resisting Cassie towards the door.

Cassie just sighed in defeat allowing her two friends to push her onto the platform.

"Come on, we want you to meet our parents," said Bri, walking towards a couple standing near the back of the station.

Will and Bri greeted each of the parents enthusiastically. Cassie smiled noticing how close the small family seemed to be.

"Mum, Dad, this is Cassie Potter," said Will.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mister and Missus Wirth," said Cassie shaking hands with each of the parents.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well Cassie," said Mrs. Wirth kindly.

"We've heard a lot about you," said Mr. Wirth.

Cassie smiled awkwardly; she never knew how to respond in those situations.

"I must say, I was rather surprised to hear a Potter landed in Slytherin. I was several years older than your parents when they were in school and they seemed to be Gryffindor to the core," said Mr. Wirth and Cassie wasn't entirely sure whether or not she should be offended.

"I was surprised as well, but it was the hat's choice, not mine," she said straightforwardly.

Cassie saw Mrs. Wirth glare at her husband and Mr. Wirth just smiled amusedly at Cassie. "I didn't mean to offend, I was just surprised."

She was saved from responding by her godfather. "CASSANDRA DARLING!" he yelled from across the room. Cassie knew he was trying to embarrass her.

"I have to go," she sighed. "It was a pleasure to meet you," she said to Mr. and Mrs. Wirth. "Have a good break," she said giving each Bri and Will a hug.

"You too," they said at the same time. Cassie laughed when Bri glared at Will. She hated it when they acted like twins.

She started walking at a leisurely pace towards where her godfather was standing with Harry and Remus.

When she reached them Sirius pulled her into a hug. They pulled apart and Cassie started walking towards the barrier to the muggle world, not even making eye contact with Remus.

They drove back to Potter Manor mostly in silence. Sirius kept trying to start up conversations, but Harry was the only one to respond. After a while Harry started looking curiously at his sister, unaware of what was going on. When they arrived home Cassie grabbed her trunk and dragged it inside and straight up to her room, not bothering to say hello to anyone else.

She threw the trunk on her bed and went to close the door, but found the doorway blocked by Remus. He looked angry and had his arms crossed in front of him.

"You're being incredibly rude. I did not raise you this way," said Remus.

Cassie glared at him, but didn't respond.

"Cassandra Lily Potter!" Remus shouted. "I get that you're mad at me, but that is no reason to go around acting like a brat! You can't walk in here ignoring your mother and your two siblings whom you've hardly seen over the last four months! If you have a problem with me, _talk_ to me about it, don't take it out on everyone around you." he said firmly.

Cassie turned to him, not bothering to stop the tears from falling. "GET OUT! You don't want to be here so LEAVE!" she shouted.

"No," he said quietly, but firmly. "I don't want to leave Cassie if you'd talk to me you'd know that."

"I don't care." She said, her eyes flashing red. "I don't need you. So just leave. Go back to your wife!"

Remus took a couple of steps towards her and pulled her into a tight hug, trying to get her to calm down. She struggled momentarily, but eventually gave in, sagging into the hug. He pulled her towards the bed and the two of them sat down, Cassie crying into Remus' chest.

They stayed there for nearly ten minutes before Cassie pulled back, much calmer than she had been originally. It was then that she noticed the tears in Remus' eyes.

"Now can we talk about this?" he asked. Cassie nodded and scooted herself back on the bed so she was sitting against the headboard. Remus stiffly crossed his legs so he was directly across from her.

"You're leaving," Cassie said quietly. "You promised you wouldn't."

Remus shook his head "I'm not going anywhere." He sighed deeply "I would never leave you Cass. Natalie and I have been fighting about this for months. We've been fighting about everything. I realized that if we want even a chance at making our marriage work, I would have to bend a little as well, not just expect her to do all the bending. We agreed to try living in a place of our own while you are away at school. During holidays, well Christmas and Easter, we will live in Potter Manor. Then during the summer we will try to work something else out. I'd like you to come and live with us over the summer, obviously we'll have to talk to your parents, but I'm not leaving you Cassie."

Cassie didn't know what to think. Obviously she had been wrong and it wasn't like Remus was just up and leaving… Forgetting about her. She couldn't exactly fault him for wanting to live away from Potter Manor with his wife. He was offering her a place in this home of his.

"Natalie hates me," Cassie said quietly, almost afraid to say it out loud.

Remus looked at her surprised "No she doesn't," he said confidently. "Cassie she's always loved you. It's just been a struggle between the two of us, but she still cares for you," he said firmly, but Cassie knew he was wrong.

"What happened to us possibly going back to Florence?" she asked.

Remus grimaced, "Obviously we'll talk about that once it gets closer to summer… Cassie, you have to understand that if I'm going to lose this marriage, I need to know that I did _everything_ I could (within reason) to save it."

Cassie nodded. "Sorry for ignoring you," she said softly, not making eye contact.

Remus leaned forward and pulled an unresisting Cassie into another hug. "I love you… Like I promised you when you were six, I'll never leave you."

"If… if She asked you to choose between me and her…" she squeaked, trailing off, unsure of whether or not she wanted an answer.

"You," Remus said without hesitation. Cassie looked at him surprised. "You're my daughter, even if it isn't by blood. I'd choose you."

Cassie nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck. They sat there for a few more minutes gaining comfort and reassurance.

"Well, if I'm not mistaken then I believe you have a couple of parents and siblings desperately wanting to poke and prod about your semester," Remus said, pulling Cassie to her feet. "and, I believe you owe them an apology," he added softly.

Cassie nodded and left the room with Remus following closely behind. She made her way down the stairs and into the living room where her entire family was located. Harry was telling an animated story about something (probably Quidditch) and Liam and Emma were hanging on every word. James was sitting on the couch next to Lily, his arm wrapped around her. Sirius was sitting in a chair across from him, telling him something that was making both James and Lily laugh.

Cassie went over and sat down beside Harry, smiling brightly at her youngest siblings. Emma squealed and jumped into Cassie's lap, wrapping her arms tightly around her waste. Liam hesitated slightly, but when Cassie held out an arm, he wrapped his arms around her neck. Cassie was reminded that no matter how many changes come, she'd always have them to stand beside her.

She was reminded of what she saw in the mysterious mirror at school and she smiled brightly, realizing that this is what she saw. She had her family; she had people that loved her.


	26. Discoveries

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

It was 8:00pm about four days away from Christmas and Cassie was lounging in her room, reading 'the lightning thief' a book about gods and goddesses and demigods. Charlie had given it to her, apparently he loved all things that had to do with mythological beings, he found them fascinating, even if they weren't real.

She heard a quiet knock at the door and after a quick 'come in,' it opened to reveal Liam.

"Hi," said Cassie surprised, sitting up on her bed and putting the book away. "What's up?" she asked casually. She and Liam got along really well, but there was such a large age difference and they still didn't know each other super well, that they didn't spend a whole lot of time together.

"I need your help," he said seriously, crawling onto Cassie's large bed.

"With what?"

Liam sighed, "I had a list of prank ideas that I was going to talk to Fred and George about… Uncle Paddy found it and talked too loudly about it, so mum heard and she destroyed it…"

Cassie looked confused, "So you want me to help you get back your list?" she asked uncertainly.

Liam shook his head "I want revenge," he said seriously, but a small mischievous smile was forming on his face.

Cassie laughed "On mum?"

"No Cassie… Uncle Paddy," he said exasperated.

"Ohhh" Cassie said with a smile. "And how do you think I could help with that?"

Liam threw his hands up "I can't ever prank him! He always sees it coming and I'm too small and have no control over my magic... You do!"

Cassie contemplated for a moment. It would be fun to prank Sirius; he was always a lot more fun to mess with than either of her parents, or Remus. He had the best reactions and it was true that he was far too comfortable, being under the impression that no one could prank him.

"I'm in," Cassie said.

Liam smiled brightly "Excellent! What should we do?"

"I'm not sure… I'll need to think about it over night, but I promise it'll be good!" she said confidently. She already had an idea of what to do, but she needed to look it up to be sure that it would work. "You should probably go to bed before mum figures out you're still up," she said, scooting him off her bed and towards the door.

"Promise it'll be good?" he asked seriously.

"I promise."

* * *

"You were in the library late last night," Said James to his oldest daughter. "You do know that you're only two days into break and you're _not_ supposed to be studying right?"

"Oh, I was just trying to figure out how to brew an animagus potion," she answered automatically.

James glared at her "you were not. I've seen you potion grades, you'd end up killing yourself before figuring out what your animal is."

Now it was Cassie's turn to glare, "I'm not that bad!" she said. "Besides Harry's grades are bad as well and we both know he's brilliant at potions. Snape is just an evil, conniving git."

"Cassandra," scolded Lily, sending a quick glance towards her youngest children. "Be nice."

Cassie glanced at her two youngest siblings; neither of them was paying much attention to the conversation. Harry had just laughed, it was true after all.

"So we both know you weren't looking up the potion," continued James "so what were you up to?" he asked suspiciously.

"I was looking up Poseidon… I wanted to see if he was real," she lied again.

"What's with the new fascination in Greek gods?" Remus asked.

Cassie shrugged, "I'm reading a fiction book about gods and goddesses and it got me thinking."

James shook his head "you're spending to much time with Charlie. Next thing we know you'll be searching for war-like men growing from the ground, the same place that a dead magical dragon was buried."

Cassie laughed and saw both Remus and Lily look at her quickly, each hiding a smile. "Charlie doesn't actually believe that's true, he just thinks it's interesting that somewhere along the way, these absurd myths were created," she said, defending her boyfriend.

James just shrugged and thankfully the topic was dropped.

After breakfast, Cassie was sitting with Liam on the floor of the living room, both talking quietly.

"I found something," she said mysteriously. "It's brilliant mind you, but I think we need a bigger audience than just us..." she trailed off.

Liam looked excited "How about we do it at the Weasley's on Christmas night?" he asked.

Cassie smiled; she was hoping he would say that. It would after all be a waste of a perfectly good prank if there weren't a large number of people there to enjoy it. "Sounds like a plan. We'll do it after presents."

Liam's smile got even larger "Brilliant. What do I need to do?"

* * *

It was now only two days until Christmas and James was called back to school for something secretive. Sirius was at work, Remus was spending the day with Natalie, and Lily was taking her three youngest children last minute Christmas shopping.

"You sure you don't need anything?" Lily asked while putting on her glamour's.

"I'm positive," Cassie said for what felt like the hundredth time. "I got it all when we were in Hogsmeade," she insisted.

"Okay, well we'll be back probably by dinner time, your father won't be back until late and Sirius should be back at 5:00. Stay inside the wards," she said, kissing her daughter on the forehead.

"I will," said Cassie exasperated. She was sixteen, not five.

Cassie finished the little homework that she had over the holiday before writing a quick note and sending it off with Hedwig.

"Be quick girl," she said.

She knew it was probably wrong, and she felt a little guilty, not to mention devious. It was just rare for her house to be empty and it wasn't like she could invite him over when everyone was home.

Cassie only had to wait thirty minutes before the floo flared to life and Charlie stumbled out.

"Do you have any idea how wrong this is?" Charlie asked amused.

Cassie scoffed "It's not like I want to do anything inappropriate! I just missed you," she said with a blush.

Charlie smiled and pulled her into his arms "I missed you too… and I missed this," he said bending down and planting a kiss on her lips. "What do you want to do?" he asked.

Cassie's eyes brightened and she pulled away from him, grabbing his arm and dragging him towards the kitchen. "We're going to make brownies," she said.

Charlie laughed, "I can't bake love. My mum tried to teach me, she tried to teach all of us and I was worst at it," he said.

"Well maybe you'll improve with me teaching you," she said distractedly, pulling ingredients from around the room.

"I suppose we'll see," he said wrapping his arms around her waste from behind.

"None of that," said Cassie slapping his hand. "Here put this on… you'll need it more than me," she said turning around and throwing an apron around his neck.

When they had finished mixing the ingredients and the mix had successfully landed in the oven, Cassie and Charlie laughed at the mess they made. Cassie had been right and Charlie did end up with the biggest mess on himself, but Cassie was also covered in flour... of course she blamed Charlie for it.

With a couple of waves of Charlie's wand the kitchen and themselves were clean. It appeared that Mrs. Weasley had, at least, successfully taught him cleaning spells. Cassie grabbed the bowl and dipped her finger in the remaining batter and licked it off. Charlie was looking at her strangely and Cassie gave him a questioning look.

"That's hot," he said quietly with a small smile playing on his face.

Cassie blushed and dropped the bowl into the sink.

"So… What do you think you're going to do when you're done teaching?" Cassie asked, trying to make it sound nonchalantly, but failing miserably.

Charlie looked at her knowingly, "Well I only had a leave of absence for a year, so I'll have to head back to Romania in July," he said.

Cassie just nodded. As excited as she was for him to _not_ be her teacher, she would rather have him stay at Hogwarts so she could see him as often as she'd like. It would be weird not seeing him every day, not being able to visit him in his room.

"It'll be okay you know?" He said, and Cassie noticed that he looked just as sad as she felt. "It's your last year, I'll come and visit on Hogsmeade weekends, maybe you can come for a week during Christmas and then I can come back here for the other week… Once you graduate we'll figure something else out."

"What do you mean?" Cassie asked confused. She hadn't given much thought to what happens after she finishes school.

Charlie sighed, "I love my dragons. I've always enjoyed being around them and working with them… I've never pictured myself doing anything different, but I love you so much more than that," he said and Cassie was taken aback by the passion and honesty in his voice. "I want us to do something together, or even something in the same area. I don't think I could handle you finding a job in England and me staying in Romania."

Cassie didn't know what to say. Part of her didn't even want to think about that. Of course she was excited to be finished with school, but I still seemed so far away… There was a year and a half after all. She leaned forward and planted a kiss on his lips. "We'll figure it out," she said, repeating what he had said earlier.

"So how are things with Remus?" he asked changing the subject.

Cassie shrugged "they're fine… I kind of over reacted before and I suppose I can understand him needing to try to make things work with Natalie. Even if she hates me."

"Are you sure she hates you?"

Cassie glared at him "Of course I'm sure. She almost never looks at me and when she does it's with a cold look. She gives me stiff hugs only when it's 'expected,' and I don't think I've had a real conversation with her since we first moved back to England."

Charlie held up his hand in a surrender motion "I believe you," he said. "She probably just doesn't know what to do… I mean before you were kidnapped you were James and Lily's. It was she and Remus they were a family. Now that you're back, you and Remus are a family and she isn't sure where she fits."

Cassie contemplated. "I suppose that makes sense," she said after a pause. "But it seems more like she wants it to go back to the way it used to be, in which case she's not doing a very good job at it because when I was little she actually liked me."

"It'll be okay love, you know Remus will always love you and you don't need her." He said comfortingly. "You have me, your dad, Remus, Sirius, and your mum…"

Cassie nodded "you're right."

"I always am," he said, kissing her on the nose.

"You're also full of yourself," she said pushing him away when the buzzer for the brownies went off.

"Can we eat them yet?" Charlie asked excitedly.

Cassie gave him a look "they have to cool or you'll burn your tongue."

Charlie sighed, "Well lets go sit while we wait," he said grabbing her arm and pulling her towards the living room. Charlie sat on the sofa and made himself comfortable, his head leaning against the backrest.

"Do you remember that day I fell asleep in the forest and you and dad found me?" Cassie asked randomly.

"Yeahhhh?" said Charlie, holding out the word, in a questioning way.

"I had a dream, when I was asleep."

Charlie turned so he was facing her, "was it a good dream? Was I in it?" he asked jokingly.

Cassie rolled her eyes "it wasn't that kind of a dream and no you weren't in it," she said with a laugh. "It was weird… It was almost like it was real," she said hesitantly.

"But it was a dream?" he asked, unsure of where it was going.

"Well, sort of. I was asleep, but I think it was real," she said.

"What was it about?" he asked.

"Well I was in the forest and I was wearing a long white dress… There was a black stag, but then it ran away and then there was another lady there in a long blue dress named Rowena. She said something about me having a gift… I don't know it was weird." She said, unsure of why she brought it up.

"Hm… well do you think this Rowena person was wanting to tell you something?" he asked and Cassie was grateful he didn't think she was a nut case.

Cassie shrugged "she just said that she wanted to meet me… and tell me the 'path ahead would be difficult,'" she said adding air quotes. "I don't know… I shouldn't have brought it up."

"It's okay Cass… I have no idea what it means, but it could have been real. If you have another dream about her let me know and we'll talk about it," he said, lifting her chin to meet his eyes. She nodded and smiled softly.

Charlie leaned forward and pulled her into a kiss. Neither of them had any desire to break apart, so they stayed there for goodness knows how long, snogging on the couch. At some point Cassie had moved so that she was sitting in his lap, one arm was around his neck, the other was buried in his red hair. He had his arms wrapped around her waist and appeared to be trying to pull her closer, not that there was any room. Charlie's hands had wandered beneath the hem of her shirt and landed on the smooth skin of her back. Cassie tensed momentarily, but forced herself to relax.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE?"

Cassie jumped off Charlie like she had been shocked and turned to the angry face of her father.

"Dad! What are you doing home?" she asked and mentally cringed, that made her sound guilty.

"What the HELL were you doing to my daughter?" Yelled James, rounding on Charlie who was also on his feet and had is arms in front of him, trying to calm him down.

"Mr. Potter, it's not what it looks like," he said, trying to find a way to not get cursed. "I'm crazy about your daughter," he said, nearly pleading. "I've liked her for a long time-"

"YOU ARE HER TEACHER! YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO LIKE HER! YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO BE WITH HER!" he yelled and Cassie could almost see the vain throbbing in his forehead.

"GET OUT OF HERE WEASLEY!" he shouted and Charlie glanced at Cassie with a grimace. Apparently this wasn't the right move because he wasn't even able to see the curse that was flying towards him until it connected with his groin area.

Charlie fell to the floor "shit!" he said, his eyes bulging in pain.

"I said get out!" James yelled, advancing towards Charlie.

Cassie jumped in front of him "Stop dad!" she shouted.

"Get out Weasley!" he yelled again, pushing his daughter to the side, he shot another curse, which thankfully missed and Charlie wasted no time in jumping to his feet and running towards the floo, although his running looked staggered and painful.

"The Burrow!" he shouted and was gone before another curse was able to collide with him.

"Dad! What did you to him?" Cassie asked, tears of anger filling her red eyes.

"What were you doing with him?" James shouted rounding on his daughter. "He's five years older than you Cassandra! He's your professor!" he shouted, grabbing her upper arm and shaking her.

"Five years isn't that much!" she shouted, trying to loosen his grip on her. "Let go of me!" she said when his grip got tighter.

"How long?" he asked, his voice deadly quiet.

"Does it matter? Let go of me!" she shouted again.

"Answer me Cassandra! How long have you been sleeping around like some-?" His question was cut off when James was pushed hard against the wall, effectively separating him and Cassie.

"Calm down before you do something you'll regret forever," came a familiar voice in James' ear, deadly quiet.

Cassie slumped onto the floor and pulled her legs up to her chest, tears were steadily falling down her face.

"He was snogging her," said James loudly, glaring at Sirius who was still restraining him.

"So what are you going to do? Destroy your relationship with your daughter? Will that fix it?"

James looked at Cassie and his eyes softened when he saw her head buried in her hands. Her body wracked with sobs. He took a step forward to go to her, but Sirius pushed him back.

"Go for a walk, clear your head and don't come back until you're willing to have a conversation with her," he said firmly, pushing James towards the front door.

James looked angry for a moment, before realizing that Sirius was right. He was angry and he would get no where if he tried to talk to Cassie now, so he turned at walked out the front door, leaving his best friend to talk to his daughter.

Sirius walked over to Cassie and sat beside her on the floor. He wasn't entirely sure what happened, but he knew it involved some boy that James didn't approve of, so obviously he wouldn't approve of him either, but he knew James was still rash when it came to his children. He pulled Cassie into a hug, and frowned when she sobbed into his shirt.

After sitting for a few minutes in silence, Cassie's sobs had lessened. "Munchkin?" said Sirius, hoping her pet name would get her to open up. "What happened?" he asked quietly.

Cassie shrugged, knowing Sirius would be upset as well.

"Well you must have some idea since you were having a yelling match with your father," he said gently.

"I have a boyfriend," she answered.

"Hm… Although I don't think any boy is good enough for you, that can't be what made your father _that_ angry. He knows that you'll want to date eventually," he said.

"It's Charlie Weasley," she said quietly and she felt Sirius stiffen.

"Cassie if he did anything… If he hurt you –"

"No!" Cassie interrupted, pulling away from her godfather and looking pleadingly into his eyes. "It's not like that at all, I like him a lot… I love him," she said quietly. "We've been together for a while, but I knew dad would react poorly since he's a bit older and so I put off telling him."

Sirius sighed, he wasn't a fan of the age difference either, but he couldn't deny that Charlie Weasley was a good man. "How can you know you love him if you've only known him for six months?" he asked, more curious than judgmental.

Cassie shrugged, "I can't explain it, but I do… It's like we belong together."

Sirius just nodded in acceptance. He had never been in love, so it wasn't as though he could contradict her. He pulled her back into a hug "You're father will come around, just give him some time to breath."

Cassie burrowed farther into the embrace and just as she began drifting off, one thought popped back into her mind. She sat up quickly, startling Sirius, and looked at him with worried eyes. "Charlie, I think dad castrated Charlie," she said urgently.

Sirius was saved from responding when the floo flared to life and Emma and Harry tumbled out, followed closely by Lily and Liam.

Lily paused surprised when she saw the tear tracks on her oldest daughter's face and the tear stains on Sirius' shirt. Cassie jumped to her feat and ran to her mother.

"I need you to go check on Charlie," She said hurriedly.

Lily saw the fear in Cassie's eyes, "Why? What happened?" she asked, glancing behind Cassie to look at Sirius.

"Dad found out about Charlie," she said quickly. "I think he castrated him."

Lily's eyes widened in surprise.

"He _was_ really angry Lils," Sirius said, standing next to Cassie.

"Where is he?" she asked.

"I told him to go for a walk," said Sirius "Cool his head a bit… the snow ought to do that for him."

Lily simply nodded.

"Will you go? Please?" Cassie asked.

Lily hesitated only slightly, wanting to talk to James. But when she saw the desperation in Cassie's eyes she nodded and walked back towards the floo.

"Sirius go find James, Cassie watch your siblings please," said Lily before flooing to the Burrow.

Lily flooed over to the burrow and was greeted by Molly.

"Oh Lily dear, what brings you here today?" she asked kindly.

Lily smiled "I was actually wondering if Charlie was around?"

Molly's smiled turned into a frown "he's in his room, but I'm afraid he's not feeling the best."

"Oh, that's too bad," Lily, said, trying to hid the nervousness from her voice. "Would you mind if I talked to him anyways? It's rather important…"

"Of course not dear. He's in his room, 3rd floor, last door to the right," she said. Lily nodded gratefully and headed up the stairs.

She knocked on Charlie's door and heard the shuffling of feet behind it. The door opened seconds later to reveal Bill.

"Mrs. Potter," he said surprised and Lily faintly heard a groan come from the room. "What can I do for you?" he asked politely.

"I was hoping that I could speak with Charlie, is he here?"

Bill glanced back into the room and then back to Lily. "He's sleeping at the moment," he said casually.

Lily raised her eyebrows "I was just here to inquire about the damage my husband has caused… my oldest daughter practically shoved me out of the house to find out," she said.

Bill stood off to the side and let her in. Charlie was lying on the bed, flat on his back. He had a washcloth on his forehead and was sweating profusely. He had a rather large ice pack between his legs and Lily was genuinely worried that James had in fact castrated him.

She walked over to the bed "What hurts?" she asked gently, dreading the answer.

"He has boils," said Bill, coming to his brother's aid. "All over down there."

Lily covered her mouth with her hand; her eyes were wide with shock. "I can't believe he used that spell on you! He knows first hand how painful it is."

Bill was trying and failing to hide a grin and Charlie let out a small smile.

Lily turned to Bill "does your mother have vanishing cream?" she asked.

Bill's brows furrowed "you mean for zits?" he asked. When Lily nodded he said, "Yeah, I'll go grab it," and he left the room.

Lily sat on the chair next to Charlie's bed. "I'm sorry he did this, but if it's any consolation, the pain will go away after we get the cream on you… it'll still be uncomfortable to walk for a couple more days, but you'll heal nicely," she said.

"Good," said Charlie breathlessly. "How's Cass?" he asked.

Lily grimaced slightly "She's fine, just worried about you," she said.

"Do you know what happened?" Charlie asked. He hadn't wanted to leave Cassie there alone, but he figured there would be a bigger issue if he stayed.

Lily shook her head. "I actually have no idea what happened. When I flooed home Cassie immediately asked me to come check on you. I did gather that James found out about the two of you?" she asked.

Charlie grimaced and nodded. "We were… kissing and Mr. Potter came in," he said. "I honestly thought he was going to kill me."

Lily frowned at the new information. She hadn't realized that her daughter had invited Charlie over without permission. Of course that wasn't an excuse for James to curse Charlie, but it did mean that Cassie would need to be grounded.

"James is rash," she said "But this is probably the worst thing he would ever do," she said, gesturing to the ice pack covered area.

Bill came back into the room carrying vanishing cream. He handed it to Lily and the three of them looked at each other unsure of what to do.

"I don't mind putting it on you," said Lily. She laughed at Charlie's wide eyes and frantic shake of the head. "But, I assume it would make you uncomfortable. Bill could put it on, or I could go get your mother," she added.

Charlie didn't look particularly happy about any of the solutions, but settled on Bill… After all, what were brothers for?

"Do I get no say in this?" asked Bill with a grimace when Charlie motioned for him. Charlie and Lily simply shook their heads.

"You should probably still stay in bed for the next day," she added as she went to leave the room. "I'll come check on you tomorrow… Depending how Cassie and James are doing, I might bring them as well. At some point we're going to have to talk," she said. "Assuming you still want to be with my daughter," she added as an after though, although she knew what his answer would be.

Charlie almost looked offended at the suggestion he might not want to be with her. "Of course I still do… I love her," he said quietly. It was a strange phenomenon saying that to his girlfriends' mother.

Lily smiled and nodded "I'll see you tomorrow Charlie… Sorry about what my husband did to you," she said and she left.

When she got home she made her way into the kitchen and frowned at her kids who were each eating what appeared to be brownies. "Are you spoiling your dinner?"

The four kids looked at her guiltily. "No mum," they said in unison.

Lily just shook her head and shooed the younger three off to their rooms saying she wanted a few minutes with Cassie.

Cassie ate more of the brownies ignoring the look her mother was giving her.

"I realize that I may not have clarified this when you came home over the summer," started Lily after gaining Cassie's attention. "You can't have boys over when there isn't anyone home… therefore you are grounded for one week," she said hesitantly.

Cassie's eyes widened in surprise "What?"

"You waited until we were all gone to invite Charlie over," she said.

"B-but it's not like I could have invited him over when everyone was here!"

Lily sighed "You never know, if you would have told your father sooner, you may have been able to."

Cassie shook her head "But it's Christmas! There's dinner at the burrow in a couple of days and I'm supposed to go to Florence for the last week of break!" she said.

Lily shook her head "You can do everything that we do as a family, such as the trip to the burrow, but I'm sorry, no Florence," she said sternly and almost took it back when Cassie's eyes filled with tears.

Cassie shook her head and backed out of the kitchen before running up to her room.

Cassie hadn't come down for the rest of the day, she felt trapped. It wasn't that she didn't understand why she was being grounded, because she did. She could admit that she felt bad about inviting him over without permission. The thing she was so upset about was that she had been so excited to go to Florence and to see her friends. It had been so long. Part of her felt like she was grounded for going home, which added the feeling of guilt into the mix.

Her saving grace that night had been Remus. When he had returned home and was filled in on everything that happened, he understood how much Cassie had been looking forward to going to Florence. It was more than just going to a party, it was more than hanging out with friends. Although he agreed with Lily's punishment, since he had the same rule when they lived in Florence, he also reminded her that the grounding would be over before New Years and suggested that he be allowed to take her to Florence then. Lily looked hesitant, but agreed after Remus reminded her how difficult the transition to England had been. Cassie was grateful, even though she wouldn't be there for a whole week, she would at least be there for a couple of days.

James had returned not long after Cassie went to her bedroom and had vented to Lily about stupid, bulky, red heads leading on his innocent teenage daughter. It was then that Lily reminded him their feelings were entirely mutual.

James had realized he had overreacted and was reminded how much he liked Charlie. That of course didn't mean that he gave his permission, but rather he agreed that he would speak with Charlie about it, after speaking to Cassie of course.

It was nearly 9:00pm when James ventured into Cassie's room, he sighed noticing her still blood-shot eyes and remembering the last thing he had said to her and what he had nearly said to her. He was grateful Sirius had come home when he did, if he hadn't James would probably have no hope for Cassie's forgiveness.

"Why don't you tell me what's been going on?" James said, sitting across from Cassie on the bed.

"Are you going to yell?" she asked.

James shook his head "I'll do my best not to," he said with a hint of a smile.

Cassie sighed and delved into her relationship of Charlie, which didn't take very long. She was pleased that although her father looked upset, he hadn't yelled or gotten too angry... yet. When she finished she looked at him expectantly, hoping he would be okay with the relationship.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked and Cassie was surprised by the hurt in his voice.

Cassie frowned "I knew you'd react badly and I didn't want you to send him to Azkaban."

James didn't smile. He had reacted badly, but he liked to think that was because he had actually walked in on them snogging.

"You've been dating for nearly three months… were you ever going to tell me?"

"Of course!" Cassie insisted, but James shook his head.

Cassie bit her lip "Dad, I didn't want to wait until graduation to start dating. I-I didn't tell you because I knew you'd be angry. I figured you'd say 'no' and if you did, then I wouldn't date him. By not telling you and not receiving a 'no' it was like I wasn't going against your wishes," she said hesitantly.

James looked at Cassie surprised. "If I had told you 'no' you wouldn't have dated him?" he asked and received a small shake of the head in response.

"Cass, I understand why you didn't want to tell me. I can be rash, but I like to think that if you would have talked to me sooner, I would have responded better. I would have of course said no initially, but after thinking about it I might have actually said 'yes.'"

Cassie looked at him regretfully. The thought had originally crossed her mind, but it had been something she didn't want to discover.

"I'm sorry," she said, knowing that nothing she could say would fix this.

James nodded "I know. I'm also aware that you don't know me very well," he said and Cassie looked at him surprised.

James smiled sadly, "you told Remus right away because you knew how he'd react. Remus raised you, I didn't. I think if you would have grown up with me and your mum you would have known that I'd react poorly, before coming around."

Cassie contemplated, she had never thought of that. She felt like she knew her dad pretty well; she knew when he'd be angry. She knew he was overprotective. She knew he wasn't the type to ground his children. But she hadn't grown up with him and already there had been several things that had surprised her.

James pulled Cassie out of her musings by kissing her on the forehead. "I'm sorry for yelling at you today… I know your mum grounded you for having a boy over without permission and I will probably be adding to that punishment, but I haven't thought of how yet," he said. At Cassie's worried look he added "Don't worry, you can still go to Florence for New Years with Moony."

He stood up and started heading towards the door.

"Dad," Cassie said, stopping him. "Do-do you approve?" she asked quietly.

James gave her a searching look before shaking his head ever so slightly. "I need to think Cass."

Cassie simply nodded, at least it wasn't a flat out no. James opened the door and began leaving before Cassie stopped him one last time.

"I never slept with him you know," she said, almost desperately. That was the one part of her dad's yelling that hurt her the most. "I don't sleep around," she said firmly.

James gave her a sad look "I know princess. I never should have said that. Get some sleep." He said, closing the door behind him.


	27. Getting Permission

**Thanks a lot for all of the kind reviews! They are greatly appreciated. I'm very sorry for the long wait with this chapter. I don't have a very good excuse, but I started a new job a couple of months ago and it's really taken a lot out of me. I also wasn't very happy with this chapter, so I kept putting it off. Anyways I have the next couple of chapters finished, so I will hopefully post them all this weekend. sorry this isn't a very long chapter, I kind of just wanted to get it out of the way. Enjoy!**

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Getting Permission

He spent most of the night tossing and turning, unsure of what to do about his daughter and Charlie. On the one hand, he liked Charlie and knew Charlie would protect Cassie. On the other hand, she was only sixteen and had spent the last three months lying to him. He wasn't sure that he could trust her, or him for that matter.

After prodding and shoving from his wife, James found himself at the Weasley's house being ushered into a seat for breakfast by Molly. He had always enjoyed meals at the Weasley's. It was loud and rumbustious. He enjoyed seeing the bickering among siblings (that weren't his own children), Watching Fred and George pick on an unsuspecting Ron. Watch Arthur's patience as Percy told him the most boring thing he could think of.

They had barely started into the meal when Molly's voice cut across James' thoughts. With one simple word, James felt frustration build up in his stomach.

"Oh Charlie dear, come and eat some food, you'll need to build up your strength after yesterday."

James looked in the direction that Molly had spoken and saw Charlie, being partially supported by Bill, standing at the bottom of the stairs. He had to hold back a smirk when he realized that Charlie had been trying to go back up the stairs after seeing James there.

Charlie hesitantly made his way to the table, and James felt a grim sense of satisfaction at Charlie's stiff gate. He was only slightly disappointed when he realized his wife must have visited, because Charlie wasn't in nearly as much pain as he would have been without the cure.

James tore his gaze away from Charlie and fell into a comfortable discussion with Arthur about the ministry. Every so often he would glance at Charlie, who was staring at his plate, hardly eating or talking. It appeared that both Bill and his mother were trying to pull him into conversation, but he was only giving short responses.

"So James dear, what brings you here today? I know it isn't the food as Lily is an excellent cook as well," said Molly.

James smiled "I was actually hoping I could speak with Charlie for a bit," he said.

Both Molly and Arthur glanced at their second oldest son.

"Is there something that we should be aware of?" asked Arthur cautiously.

Charlie looked up quickly at the question, finally making eye contact with James.

"I'm sure Charlie will tell you about it later," he said with a slight glare towards Charlie.

Arthur nodded in understanding. Molly looked as though she wanted to know more, but didn't press the issue.

* * *

When breakfast was finished, James and Charlie excused themselves and made their way into the sitting room.

Charlie hesitated only for a moment before beginning the conversation, much to James' surprise.

"I realize that the way that Cassie and I went about our relationship was wrong. I should have talked to you and Mrs. Potter before approaching Cassie, I was just worried you'd say 'no.' I realize that's foolish since I'm faced with the same exact problem right now, but when I asked Cassie out after the incident in the Forbidden Forest, not losing her was on the forefront of my mind," he said.

James simply nodded. "You've had a lot of girlfriends and a very casual lifestyle," he said. He knew that it was possible for somebody to change, but when it concerned his daughter he had to be absolutely certain that he was serious.

Charlie nodded "Honestly, I never thought I'd want to be in a serious relationship. I've never loved anyone, I've never considered leaving my dragons, I've never been in a relationship for longer than a month… until Cassie," he said. "I can't explain it, but there's no doubt in my mind that she's the one for me."

James saw nothing but honesty in Charlie's eyes and was torn between disappointment and relief.

"If I say 'no' to you dating my daughter?"

"Obviously, I'll be upset, but I'll respect that decision… I'll come to you again in a year and a half and try again." He said with a bitter laugh.

"You'd be willing to wait for her?" James asked curiously. This was very different from Charlie's usual lifestyle.

Charlie nodded without hesitation.

James looked at Charlie searchingly, after a few moments he sighed, running his hands through his hair. "Look, Charlie. I know you… love my daughter," he began, stumbling over the word 'love.' "I know you love her and I know she feels the same, but you have been lying to my face all year. We've been having great discussions and not once did you think to mention that you were with her. Not once did you mention you were even _interested_ in her and it's because of that that you've lost my trust."

Charlie nodded dejectedly.

"I'm not saying yes or no yet, I need a little more time to think," said James standing up. "I won't tell your parents what happened, but I suggest you do," he said, while heading towards the door.

"I will," said Charlie.

* * *

After James flooed back to his house, Charlie went back to his family, all of whom were in the kitchen. Molly and Arthur were talking in whispers. Fred and George were doing the dishes, although more water was getting on the floor than on the plate. Ron was still eating while Bill was telling Ginny some story. Charlie figured he must be exaggerating by the excited gleam in his sister's eyes.

"Charlie's in trouble," mocked Fred as soon as Charlie walked into the room.

"What did you do to make Mr. Potter so mad?" asked George

Charlie just shook his head, not smiling. He was far too worried about what would happen with him and Cassie. He was also worried about how his parents would react. He was an adult so he could make his own decisions, but he knew his mum at least would be upset about him dating someone who was still under age.

"Alright kids, everybody out… Why don't you go to your holiday homework," said Molly, shooing her younger children out of the kitchen. They grumbled wanting to listen in, but went without much of a fight. Bill followed them out giving Charlie a supportive pat on his way.

"So want to tell us what's been going on?" Arthur asked calmly as they sat at the kitchen table.

Charlie sighed, but decided this might be a situation where it's better to just rip off the Band-Aid.

"I really like Cassandra Potter, I've been dating her since the end of September. I asked Mr. Lupin for permission because she was underage, but didn't ask Mr. or Mrs. Potter. Mrs. Potter found out a couple of weeks ago and yesterday Mr. Potter walked in on the two of us snogging at Cassie's house," Charlie said quickly.

He looked up at each of his parents and was unsurprised to see anger in his mother's eyes. He was however surprised to see a small smile on his father's face.

"CHARLIE WEASLEY! She's just a child! What were you thinking?" shouted Molly.

Molly continued with her rant for a few more minutes talking about how he shouldn't have taken advantage of a child and how he was her professor. Everything that Charlie had heard over and over again. Charlie just sat and took it, with his head bowed.

"Molly, that's enough," said Arthur calmly. "What are your intentions with her?" he asked his son when Molly had sat back down.

"I love her," Charlie said quietly.

Arthur simply nodded, "you're an adult and this is your decision to make. Although Cassie _is_ a bit young, she's only 5 years younger than you. I'm glad that you found someone who makes you so happy," he finished, patting his son on the hand.

Charlie gave his father a large smile before turning to his mother. "She may be young, but she's definitely not a child," he said and Molly simply looked hesitant. She nodded and Charlie took that as his cue to leave.

On his way out he heard his father tell his mother "Have you ever seen Charlie as happy as he's been since he met her? There may be more to this than we see."

* * *

Later that evening James had invited Charlie over for dinner, having made his decision. James, Lily, Remus, and Cassie were seated in the living room. Cassie was sitting nervously on the chase lounge; her eyes were swollen and puffy from the day before. Her father hadn't said anything to her about what he wanted to talk about, just that he wanted to talk to her and Charlie.

They didn't have to wait long of Charlie to come through the fireplace and make himself comfortable in a recliner across from Cassie. He was also looking nervous. When his eyes met Cassie's he wanted nothing more than to go to her and pull her into a tight hug, but he knew that at the moment that would be very inappropriate.

"Thanks for coming Charlie," said James somewhat reluctantly.

Charlie simply nodded in response.

James glanced at Lily and Remus, each of who gave him a shrug, as they didn't have anything to say.

"Okay… so I suppose I'll just start," said James hesitantly, looking like he didn't want to have this conversation. "You both have to understand that the thing I'm most upset about isn't Charlie's age, it's that you both kept this from me for nearly three months. That being said, Charlie, I know you're a good man and I know that you'll treat my daughter right," he finished.

Both Cassie and Charlie looked up surprised, could he be saying that he approved?

"Charlie, I give you my permission to date my daughter, but I do have a few ground rules," he said receiving two smiles in response.

"You have both lost my trust, so until you can regain that I don't want the two of you alone together anywhere. I want to know when you go out, Cassie has a curfew of 10:00 on week days, 11 on weekends, and nothing more than…. Kissing," he added hesitantly. "Oh and Cassie you're going to have to drop COMC next term."

Cassie looked surprised and confused "Why?" she asked a little angrily.

James just gave her a look "When your seventeen, you're old enough to date Charlie publicly with your guardians' permission, despite him being your professor. However, the rules say that you can't have a class with him as he could show favoritism.

Cassie smiled largely, agreeing. She didn't mind not taking COMC if it meant she could be public with Charlie, she would at least still have her private lessons. She climbed off the chair and gave her father a huge hug as he was sitting on the couch. He hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead.

"I swear Charlie, if you hurt her, I will get rid of a very important piece of your anatomy," he added.

Charlie grimaced, "I won't hurt her… Thank you Mr. Potter."

Cassie gave a hug to both her mother and Remus, thanking them endlessly before making her way over to Charlie, sitting on the armrest of the recliner.

James stood up and ran his hands through his hair, something he did when he was nervous or stressed, this would definitely constitute as a stressful situation.

"Dinner?" Remus asked, standing next to James and patting him on the shoulder.

"Yes…. Food sounds good," he responded, sending one last glance towards Charlie and Cassie before letting Remus lead him out of the room.

"Cassie is grounded for the next week," said Lily "So no date nights or anything, however you are welcome to stay for dinner Charlie," she added with a kind smile.

"Thank you Mrs. Potter, dinner sounds great," he said.

Lily gave them one last smile before leaving the room to go get the other kids.

When the two of them were alone, Charlie let out a relieved sigh. "Thank goodness that's over," he said.

Cassie smiled and leaned forward, kissing him on the forehead. "You do still want this right? I mean I know my dad cursed you and it's been a lot of trouble… well I'd understand if you didn't, but-"

Charlie pressing his lips to hers cut her off.

"I do want this," he said when they pulled apart. "I love you and I don't care what crap we have to go through, I want to be with you."

Cassie kissed him again, and situated herself on his lap.

"So what did my dad do to you?" She asked.

Charlie grimaced "Gave me boils," he said.

Cassie looked confused. "He gave you boils? Do you still have them?"

He shook his head "apparently somebody used the same spell on Mr. Potter since your mother knew that vanishing cream would get rid of them."

Cassie nodded "were they all over?"

Charlie shook his head "just in the crotch area," he said without blushing.

Cassie however did blush. "Oh…. Well does it still work?" she asked, the blush darkening.

Charlie's eyes widened and he let out a low chuckle, staring at her disbelieving.

"What?" Cassie asked defensively. "I might need to know eventually."

Charlie shook his head fondly "Yes love, it still works," he said and kissed her on the nose. The two of them stood up and headed into the dining room, hand in hand, for dinner with the family.


	28. Christmas

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Christmas

"CASSIE, it's Christmas!"

Cassie awoke suddenly when she felt a dip in the bed, followed by bouncing and squealing about Christmas.

Cassie shoved the pillow over her head and burrowed her face into the bed beneath her. "dn't wanna wake up," she mumbled.

"But Cassie it's _Christmas,_ " her little sister said, Cassie could practically hear the pout in her voice.

She grudgingly got out of bed and followed her excitable sister who was bounding down the staircase. When she reached the living room that was decked out with Christmas lights, wreaths, and a tree, she was happy to see that her entire family was already gathering. Her dad, Sirius, Remus, and Natalie were already sitting, each of them looking exhausted. Liam, Emma, and Harry were all wide awake, looking at all the presents underneath the tree.

It made her happy, seeing how excited her siblings were. She could remember being young and excited about presents. Of course for the last several years, she's always enjoyed Christmas, but it seemed the excitement of waking up to presents had gone away.

Lily came out moments later with six steaming cups of hot coffee and three cups of hot chocolate. Cassie took her coffee gratefully and squeezed between Sirius and Remus on the couch. Natalie who was sitting on Remus' other side sent her a disdainful glance as she moved over a couple inches to make room. Sirius threw his arm around his goddaughter while she pulled her knees up to her chest, resting the cup on top of them.

Harry and Liam started passing out the presents. Cassie was surprised to see eight presents from her family and a few more from her friends at school. She would usually only get a couple from Remus and one from Erin, she definitely wasn't used to this many.

They took turns opening the gifts and she got mostly practical gifts, except for a beautiful bracelet that her father got her.

It wasn't until after lunch when the adults were talking quietly, except for Sirius who had fallen asleep on the couch, that Liam approached her about the prank.

"Is our plan coming together?" He asked seriously.

Cassie nodded "My inside source brewed the potion last night and I have the spell. All you'll need to do is slip three drops of the potion into his drink tonight," She said, a mischievous look in her eyes.

Liam nodded, "good…"

* * *

That night when they travelled by floo powder to the burrow, Cassie found herself overwhelmed by the busyness and over crowdedness of the house. Harry, Liam, and Emma had immediately run off in search of their younger friends while the adults were all giving exuberant 'hello's.'

Cassie was pulled into a tight hug from Mrs. Weasley. "How has your year been so far? We were so happy to hear that you were dating Charlie. We were worried he'd never be serious about someone," she said kindly.

Cassie just smiled in response, nodding her head. Charlie had told her the night before that his mum had been upset that he was dating someone underage, but they did like Cassie, just wished she was a bit older.

She said hello to the rest of the adults that were gathered in the kitchen. Cassie received a tight hug from Andromeda as she asked how school was going. Cassie tensed at the hug, she felt bad and knew it was irrational, but Andromeda looked so much like her sister that Cassie couldn't help the shiver of fear that spread up her spine. If Andromeda noticed her tense up, she didn't say anything, she just smiled kindly at her.

After hellos were said Cassie made her way into the living room, hoping to find Charlie. When she entered the room she found where the younger generation of Weasley and her siblings had gone, but Charlie wasn't there.

Emma was talking to Ginny on the floor by the fire while Ron was playing chess with Harry, who it seemed was losing.

"Hey little red." Cassie turned to see Bill, sitting on the couch with a magazine open on his lap. He patted the seat next to him and Cassie took it with a shy smile.

"Charlie's upstairs trying to find the perfect outfit to wear tonight…" He said, still looking at his magazine.

Cassie scoffed and raised her eyebrow in disbelief. "He's never cared about his looks before."

Bill looked at her and smirked. "You're right, he's just applying potion to his privates… bit sore still," he said, his smile widening at Cassie's blush. He folded up his magazine and put it on the table beside the couch before flinging one arm around Cassie's shoulders and digging his other hand in his pocket.

He glanced around the room, before pulling out a vial and slipping it into Cassie's lap. "I'm not even going to ask why you need this, but you better not drag me down with you," he said in a hushed tone.

Cassie pocketed the vial before smirking at him, "no promises."

"Hey! Hands off my woman…" Charlie came into the room, a smirk on his face. He didn't look as uncomfortable as the previous day, but he still looked a bit stiff when he walked.

"I don't know Char… Cassie's quite pretty and I am the better option," Bill said pulling her a bit closer. "I mean I'm a _curse breaker_ … much cooler than a dragon handler."

Cassie couldn't stop the warmth that spread across her face. She was amused, she knew he was kidding, but she liked watching the two brothers bicker.

"You're so funny Billy…" Charlie said with a mock glare. He took a seat on Cassie's other side, grabbing Bill's arm and moving it from around Cassie's shoulders so he could place his own arm there.

"I didn't know you two were dating,"

Cassie noticed Tonks for the first time since arriving. She was standing at the doorway looking at the three of them with a curious expression. Cassie couldn't quite place it but she seemed to be almost… upset by what she heard.

"Tonksie!" Charlie said with a large smile and exuberant voice that caused Cassie to look at him in surprise. She didn't know Tonks all that well. She had come to Harry's birthday party last summer, but they hadn't spent very much time together. She knew Tonks and Charlie had been friends back in school, but didn't know how close they still were.

Tonks wrinkled her nose "I suppose that's better than _Nymphadora,_ but it still an awful name. Anyways, you never answered my question! I didn't know you were dating…"

Charlie rolled his eyes "that's not a question… but yes we are."

Tonks took a seat on the armchair next to the couch. "I'm surprised Mr. Potter is letting you. He's so protective of his other kids I thought he'd be protective of Cassie too."

Cassie glanced at Charlie sympathetically when he grimaced. "Dad wasn't very happy about it when he found out, but he likes Charlie, so he's given us his permission," she said with a small smile.

"Well congratulations I suppose," Tonks said with a kind smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Only a short while later found the large group of people sitting at a large table in the backyard. Heating charms had been placed all around them so it wasn't uncomfortably cold in the middle of December.

Cassie found herself seated between Charlie and her mother, Sirius and Liam were siting on her mother's other side.

The meal went quickly; it was a delicious Christmas ham prepared by Molly. After desert Cassie decided that it was time to put her plan into motion. She gave a meaningful look to Liam before drawing Sirius' attention to herself.

"So Uncle Paddy, I've been thinking and I think you should come with Moony and I to Florence."

"And why's that," he asked suspiciously.

"well…. You're thirty-four and still single… I think I found someone you might like," she said with an innocent look.

Sirius just narrowed his eyes at his goddaughter "and who might that be?"

"Her name is Magdalene, she's cute, smart, and very nice."

Sirius just stared at her for a moment "Why do I feel like this isn't as innocent and helpful as you're trying to make it sound?"

"Because you're a skeptic," she said as though it were obvious.

"uh huh," his look hadn't changed "and how old is this person?"

Cassie rolled her eyes "does age really matter to you?"

Sirius laughed "yes, yes it does.

"Well she's a bit older than you, but she's great."

"yeah and how old is a bit older?"

"She's sixty-seven if you must know… It's really not that big of an age difference."

Lily laughed at Sirius' expression. He looked outraged at the thought of being 'close' to the age sixty-seven he was after all half that age.

"No thank you… I will however come to Florence with you," he said, now he was the one looking mischievous.

"I take it back, you're not invited."

Sirius shook his head "no take backs. I'm coming."

"there's not enough room in our house… you'd have to sleep on the floor."

Sirius shook his head again. "I know you have a guest room. Face it Cass, you're not getting rid of me… I can't wait to talk to all of your little friends."

Cassie just smirked as Sirius lifted his glass up to his lips to take a sip. Sirius looked suspicious at her sudden change in attitude, but it didn't stop him from taking a drink.

Suddenly there was a loud bang and Sirius was pushed back in his chair. He was quickly surrounded by a large puff of pink smoke.

Lily and Liam were both waving at the air in front of them trying to get it to clear. When it finally did clear, everyone noticed that Sirius was no longer there, but was replaced by small black Yorkshire terrier with a pink bow at the top of its head. It took a moment for everyone to notice, but when they did everyone in the room busted out laughing, well everyone except for Molly who was glaring at Fred and George, looking ready to yell. Even Lily looked like she was trying to smother a laugh.

"He's so cute!" said Tonks, picking up the dog and putting it on her lap. The dog growled and started barking, which caused everyone to laugh even more since it was wimpy and high pitched, much different than the usual grim-like dog.

When the laughing had died down somewhat Molly yelled "Boys! How dare you! They are guests in this home."

Fred and George glanced at each other and then back at their mother in offense. "This wasn't us." They said together.

"Oh please… this has your name written all over it!"

The twins nodded in agreement, "It does! But it wasn't us!" they insisted.

Lily looked around the room curiously her eyes landing on her younger son who was refusing to make eye contact. Cassie sighed, they could have gotten away with it if he didn't look so guilty.

Lily reached over and patted Molly on the arm. "Molly, I believe it was my son who did this," she said shooting a glare at Liam, who cringed. "However, there's no way he could have done this alone… it was far to advanced, so tell me Liam, who was your accomplice?" Lily asked sternly, everyone else around the table was snickering at Sirius who appeared to be trying to run towards Liam.

Liam just looked at the table and didn't answer, but he was still laughing silently. Sirius had now managed to get on the table and the small Yorkshire terrier made its way over to Liam and was barking at him, wanting answers. This just caused everyone else to laugh again.

"Well Lily, this is some seriously impressive magic. I'd say it required both a potion and a spell, which means it must have been someone over age," Said Mr. Weasley, glancing between his two oldest, Tonks, and surprisingly James, who just laughed.

"Believe me Arthur, this is something I would have done if I had thought of it," said James.

Cassie could feel eyes burning into the side of her head, but she continued to keep her face blank, devoid of any indicating factors that it was her.

"I believe," began Remus, causing Cassie to internally cringe, knowing he was going to out her. "I believe that it could also have been done by someone who is underage, but capable of performing magic without a wand," he said calmly.

Some of the people throughout the room looked confused, as they weren't aware of the extent of Cassie's powers.

"The same kind of person who would turn their father into a child," said James reluctantly, staring at his oldest child. Charlie, Fred, George, Ron, and Harry burst out laughing at the memory of James as a child. Sirius turned and trotted across the table standing directly in front of Cassie and started barking.

Cassie couldn't contain it anymore and she started laughing when she got a closer look at Sirius as a Yorkshire Puppy. His beady gray eyes were glaring at her and his tiny bark was not threatening in the slightest. She plucked the small dog off of the table and held him tightly, despite his attempts at escape.

Turning to Charlie she said "Can we keep him? He can be our first pet as a couple."

Charlie just laughed and kissed her on the forehead "Of course. Anything for you," he scratched behind Sirius' ears causing Sirius to whimper in contentment while trying to growl, it was a strange combination.

"So was Charlie your accomplice?" James asked with a glare. Despite giving his permission, he wasn't ecstatic about seeing the two of them together.

Charlie just threw his hands up in mock surrender "It wasn't me."

Cassie just smirked, not wanting to get her boyfriend into trouble when he was trying to get back into James' good graces. After all, the last thing he needed was to be an enemy of Sirius as well. She looked intently over to Bill with a wide smirk plastered across her face. He simply glared back.

"Bill always was the one in the family that was good at potions," said Arthur.

"I told you not to drag me down with you Potter!" Bill said, without any real bitterness.

Lily just smiled, "Alright, Molly what do you say we let Cassie, Liam, and Bill clean everything up?" she suggested, causing Liam to groan.

Molly nodded her agreement "Without magic," she added, sending a pointed look towards Bill and Cassie.

Molly shooed everyone except the three of them into the living room. Cassie thrust a rather squirmy Sirius into her mothers' arms before she left.

They had been cleaning for nearly an hour when Cassie noticed her brother getting tired, it was getting late and they had been washing the dishes for a while, Bill was still in the yard, tearing down the tables and cleaning everything off. She told her brother that she would finish up and she sent him to the rest of the family.

She had been cleaning, humming to herself when a voice from behind her startled her.

"Need any help?" it had asked. Cassie turned quickly and jumped back in fright, dropping the plate, which crashed into pieces on the floor.

"No!" Cassie said startled. "I'm fine, thanks though," she added with a hasty smile.

Andromeda waved her wand and repaired and cleaned the dish and put it away.

"Is everything alright?" she asked kindly. "You seem so jumpy… around me," she said quietly, almost afraid of the answer.

Cassie looked up quickly into Andromeda's kind brown eyes. It was startling how different she was from her sister, no matter how much they looked alike. Cassie sighed "its nothing," she said.

"I raised Nymphadora," she said, looking at Cassie intently. "I know when someone is hiding something."

Cassie smiled softly, taking a deep breath. "I knew Bellatrix," she said quietly.

Andromeda's eyebrows shot up in surprise and then softened "and I remind you of her?" she asked kindly.

Cassie shook her head frantically "no, you just look like her. The two of you are nothing alike," she insisted.

Andy smiled "that's what I meant… Believe it or not, this isn't the first time I heard that," she said and hesitated. "What did she do to you?"

Cassie just shrugged "what didn't she do?" she asked rhetorically. "She's the one who kidnapped me, I actually spent the majority of three years under her watchful eye. She really took me under her wing and taught me how to best serve Lord Voldemort," Cassie said, her voice becoming harsher as she continued talking. "Unfortunately I was a very stubborn little girl and wasn't very compliant so she took her time showing me how wrong I was. Occasionally she would torture me, other times she would carve words into my skin… She was the one who would push me until I burst. She pushed me until I couldn't control my magic anymore," Cassie said, not even noticing the tears that had gathered in her eyes. She wasn't sure why she was telling this to Andromeda, maybe because she looked like Bellatrix.

She was brought out of her thinking when she felt a soft hand on her face, wiping a tear that had unintentionally fallen from her eyes.

"Cassie… My sister was evil and sadistic. Merlin, torturing a little girl? That's a new low for her. She's locked up in Azkaban now and she'll never escape. She'll be there forever, you never have to worry about anyone as horrible as her ever again," Andy insisted comfortingly.

Cassie nodded "I'm sorry," she said quietly "I know she's gone, I just hated her so much."

Andy just nodded and pulled Cassie into a warm embrace. "Just know, I'm nothing like my sister. I'd never hurt you," she said passionately.

Cassie nodded "I know… Sorry, I know you're different, It's just that sometimes I look at you and see her…" she trailed off looking guilty.

"I understand," she said kindly, brushing her thumb across Cassie's cheek. She waved her wand and the rest of the dishes cleaned were clean, dried, and put away. "Why don't we go back out and join everyone else? I believe your family is planning on leaving soon.

Cassie nodded and followed Andy out of the room.

* * *

It was later that evening that Cassie was in her pajamas sitting on her bed, reading her book. It was pretty late, her parents were the only ones that were still awake when she made her way into her room, so she was a little surprised when she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Lily opened the door quietly and walked in, closing the door behind her. She sat across from Cassie on the bed, looking troubled.

"Is everything okay?" Cassie asked hesitantly.

Lily just looked at Cassie "I-I heard you talking with Andromeda," she said hesitantly. "I heard you talking about Bellatrix."

Cassie blushed slightly, but nodded.

"I knew that whatever it was that she did was bad..." she began "but what do you mean she carved words into your skin?"

Cassie blanched. Had she really said that? "It-I… It was nothing," she stuttered.

"Cass… Can I see?" she asked.

Cassie hesitated, but nodded. She lifted up her shirt, revealing a word carved into her skin, right over the side of her rib cage.

"Keira?" Lily asked, shakily running her fingers over the word, tears filling her eyes.

"It's what they called me… It means destroyer," Cassie said quietly. "After the first year, Bellatrix wanted me to hurt people and was frustrated that I wouldn't do it to her satisfaction… She was mad and used a knife to carve it into my skin so I wouldn't forget my place in Voldemort's army… My purpose in life," she said with coldness in her voice.

"Oh Cassie," Lily said sadly.

"It's okay mum," Cassie said, her voice softening. She leaned forward giving her mum a hug and Lily held her tightly.

"I wish you didn't have to go through that. I wish we had found you sooner," she said brokenly.

Cassie pulled back and shrugged with a small smile on her face. "I'm here now, besides Moony always says that I wouldn't be the same person I am today if I hadn't gone through those experiences," she said calmly, then frowned. "Maybe that would be better," she added jokingly.

Lily laughed a slightly bitter laugh, "No, we love you just the way you are."


	29. The Last of Florence

Hello all, I realize it has been a very long time since I have posted a chapter. I had some writers block for a while, unsure of what direction I wanted to take this chapter. I appreciate all of you who are still following this story even after so many months! The plot will pick up a bit in the next chapter. Let me know if there is anything you would like to see in the story! P.s. I own nothing, Harry Potter is jk Rowling' masterpiece.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

The Last of Florence

"Okay, have fun. Be safe. And we'll see you in three days," Lily said, holding tightly to Cassie.

Cassie had already said goodbye to her entire family and she was standing impatiently on the doorstep of Potter Manor with Sirius, waiting for Remus. Sirius had indeed decided to go with the two of them to Florence and Cassie wasn't entirely sure why, but it worried her. She loved him dearly, but he was still a bit bitter about being turned into a Yorkshire terrier.

"Don't forget you and Charlie can't be alone in a room together," her father added.

Cassie didn't respond, she hadn't seen Charlie since Christmas and she'd followed her grounding perfectly, without complaint, but things had been tense between her and James ever since the incident. Of course Cassie couldn't really blame him for not trusting her, but it still hurt. It hurt that now he looked at her with suspicion. For goodness sakes she made one mistake.

"Ready?" Remus said, clapping James on the shoulder while he finally came out of the house. His face was tight; it was obvious he had been arguing with Natalie about something or another.

"Yes," Cassie said with a relived smile. She couldn't wait to be back in Florence.

With that, Cassie gripped Remus' arm tightly and after a small wave, the two of them were being sucked through a non-existent tube followed closely by Sirius. When Cassie's feet hit solid ground, the first thing that accosted her was the smell of the Ocean. She smiled brightly as she opened her eyes, she was home.

The first thing Cassie did when she arrived at her home in Florence was run up to her room and throw her bag on the floor before jumping into her bed. There wasn't much of a difference between this bed and the one at Potter Manor, but this one was familiar and she had missed it greatly.

She laid there for nearly five minutes, simply staring at her ceilings when Sirius came into the room, a fond smile on his face.

"Moony's sleeping... I was almost expecting you to be asleep as well."

Cassie shook her head, "I'm not too tired, I've just missed my bed." She sat up quickly and rolled off of her bed, sending one more glance around her bedroom. "How on earth did he fall asleep so quickly? It's still morning, it's not like we've had a long day yet."

Sirius frowned slightly, debating with himself on what to say. "I think he's missed this place as much as you have," he said simply.

Cassie nodded. She knew sometime she'd have to talk to Remus more about Natalie, but she wasn't entirely comfortable with those discussions. She didn't like how much Natalie hated her and she didn't want to be the reason that Remus and Natalie didn't work out. Her brain felt discombobulated. Cognitive dissonance would probably be the proper term.

"What do you say we go for a walk? We can go see if we can find some of your friends," Sirius suggested, guiding Cassie out of her room and down the stairs.

Cassie smiled brightly at the prospect and gladly put on her shoes and coat. As soon as the two of them stepped outside, Cassie all but dragged Sirius towards Jon's house.

* * *

"So he worked with real living dragons?" Laila asked almost fearfully. She had always been rather frightened of large animals, dragons definitely fit onto that list.

"Yep," Cassie said popping the "p". "He worked with dragons and I believe he's going back to Romania next year."

The morning had been pleasant. Cassie spent the morning with Jon and Laila. They were heading towards the pier, with Erin and Sirius lagging behind. They hadn't heard from Remus yet, so they assumed he was still sleeping.

"How's your dad taking the whole thing?" Jon asked

Cassie shrugged, "he's been sorta distant. He's more upset that we lied about it."

They reached the pier and Cassie walked ahead of the others. She loved this place, it was small and almost always deserted. Cassie stared down at the water, breathing in the scent of the Ocean. She tuned out the conversations behind her and focused entirely on the water. Focused on the feeling of being home, being safe. Life had gotten so complicated. Things were tense with her father, her studies weren't progressing as quickly as she had hoped, there was even tension with Remus. Cassie felt guilt stir in her stomach at the thought of her uncle. He was so unhappy, Cassie could see it, but she was too afraid to talk to him about it. Too afraid to know the truth. That was the thing about this ocean, it took away those worries, even if only briefly. This was her home, her world, where nothing was different and things functioned the way they used to. When she was here, all Cassie had to do was think of her high school days and what she wanted to be when she grew up. She didn't have to think of family, or secrets, or pain. So for a while, staring at the ocean, Cassie tried to forget everything and remember things as they were.

She wasn't sure how long she'd stood there, staring, but she was pulled out of her musings when she felt an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close, she smelled the cologne of her godfather and was grateful that he was there.

"It's beautiful out here," he said as Cassie wrapped her arm around waist and rested her head on his shoulder. "What has you thinking so hard?"

Cassie hesitated, there were so many things she wanted to say, so many questions she wanted to ask. "I just don't get it…" she started, but trailed off, not wanting to say the wrong thing.

"get what?" Sirius prodded, his eyes still fixed on the water.

Cassie glanced around and saw that Erin, Jon, and Laila had wandered onto the beach, Cassie assumed they were looking for those glass balls that are supposedly worth something.

"Why is Uncle Moony still with Natalie?" she asked quietly.

Sirius hesitated, contemplating his response "because he's Remus…" he said.

Cassie shot him a glare, that wasn't the answer she was looking for, "all I mean," she continued "is that he's so unhappy with her. Whenever he talks about her he's upset. It's like he can't do anything right with her, I mean he moved out to live with her and it's still not enough."

"Cass, Rem and Nat have a long history together. She's been strange over the last seven months, but they were married and the only reason they didn't spend their life together is because of Voldemort and his cronies." Sirius paused, unsure of how to continue, how to explain that when two people love each other, they may put up with a lot to please the one they love. "When Remus was taken, they were trying to have a kid. They were trying to start a family. That is the Remus that Natalie remembers, that is what Natalie wants back, but Remus is a different person."

Cassie pulled away from Sirius and turned to look at him, she didn't know they were trying to have a kid. "Is it my fault?" she asked. It was a question that had been spinning in her head for months. She was torn between wanting her uncle to be happy and back with his wife and wanting him to herself. The only problem was, she didn't want to be the cause of his pain and she was terrified that she was.

"No," Sirius answered adamantly. "Cassie, you went into Lestrange Manor as a six-year-old girl, full of innocence and love. You were the happiest and most outgoing child I had ever met. You loved everyone you met, except for Peter, and you wanted to get to know them, be friends with them. You're not that same little girl." He finished.

Cassie was confused and a bit offended.

"Love," he said, grabbing Cassie's chin and turning it towards him "I'm not saying you came out a bad person. You are a beautiful person with a beautiful soul, but you lost your innocence in that cellar. You're more cautious around people, more aware of the horrible things that are out there. More powerful and strong than you ever were." His eyes were sad when he was speaking.

"I'm not sure where you're going with this," Cassie said, she understood what he was saying. But wasn't sure how it related to Remus and Natalie.

"What I'm saying, is that the same thing happened to Remus, and that has absolutely nothing to do with you. It has to do with what happened to the two of you in Lestrange Manor."

Cassie nodded "has he changed that much?"

"Remus is my best friend, has been since the day I met him…. Well maybe not the day I met him, but by the second month of knowing him for sure," He said with a smirk. At Cassie's questioning glance he said "I found him a bit annoying when I first met him.

"Remus has always known struggles because of his furry little problem. He's always known pain and suffering but he used to be a bit of a push over. He's not anymore, not really and that's one of the problems that Natalie's coming across, Remus is stronger than he ever was, to everyone which includes James and myself.

"Look, all I'm saying Cassie, is that Natalie and Remus have a long history and they are trying to make it work, but they've been apart for ten years and neither of them are the same," Sirius finished.

"But they might have an easier time making it work if I weren't in the picture," Cassie insisted dejectedly.

"and how do you intend to 'not be in the picture'" he said, making air quotes with his fingers.

Cassie shrugged "If I tell Moony that he should live with her and forget me – "

"That could never happen," Sirius interrupted "you seem to think that you are the only one who needs your relationship, but your wrong, Remus needs you as much as you need him. You're his daughter and even if you gave your blessing for him to leave, he would never be happy without you in his life."

Cassie sighed and nodded "You're sure?"

"Positive," he said, pulling her in for a hug and kissing her forehead.

Sirius wrapped his hand around her shoulders and guided her away from the pier's edge "so why are the three of them looking for balls?" he said, glancing at Erin, Jon, and Laila who were quite a far distance from them on the beach.

Cassie shook her head "apparently people will drop these little glass floating balls along the beach and tourists will search for them. They're supposed to be quite beautiful, but I've never seen one."

"well that sounds like fun," Sirius said, excitedly. He started jogging ahead of Cassie and onto the beach "come on Munchkin, let's go catch them."

Cassie smiled, although she knew he would be trying to embarrass her at some point, she was grateful he came on this trip. With one last glance at the pier behind her, Cassie jumped off and onto the sand and began running after Sirius.

* * *

"Cassie, Charlie's here," Cassie heard Remus shout up the stairs and she felt fluttering in her stomach. This wasn't a date and Cassie knew that, but it was there first time going out together, the first time Cassie could show him off to her friends and be together like a real couple. Plus, Cassie knew this would be the only time she could do this until she was 17 and legally old enough to date Charlie at Hogwarts, so she was going to make the most of it.

Cassie hopped down the stairs and headed into the living room. Charlie stood by Remus with a large smile on his face. He pulled her into a tight hug when she was close enough "I'm excited to meet your friends… and see your home."

The word 'home' rang through Cassie's ears, she was excited to show him her home. Her Safe Haven.

"me too, Let's go," Cassie said, grabbing Charlie's hand and pulling him towards the door.

The four of them headed out the door and made their way towards Jon's house where Erin was waiting to drive them to the party.

Lucy lived on a hill overlooking the ocean. Cassie always loved being at Lucy's house. It was a 20-minute drive out of town, surrounded by trees, and completely secluded from other people.

"Dang, her home is huge," Charlie said, staring in awe at the home in front of her. Both Sirius and Cassie looked at Charlie, he acted like he'd never seen a home this large.

Charlie noticed the glances and shook his head "yes I realize this is the same size as both of your homes, but there's something about this one," he said.

Cassie knew what he was talking about, she would spend the better part of every summer wandering through the forest, hiking the preexisting trails and making new ones. The house itself was beautiful as well with giant glass windows on every wall.

They parked a short distance from the house, ensuring that they would have a way out if they didn't want to stay long.

Cassie was the first to jump out of the car, followed closely by the others. She hadn't even spared a glance to them, but walked quickly towards the house.

She felt a hand grasp hers and smiled largely at Charlie who had run to catch up with her.

"I haven't been here in so long."

As they walked up the steps, anticipation filled Cassie's stomach. They walked through the door and Cassie got a quick glance at the grand foyer with the high ceiling and glass chandelier before a loud "Arianna" was heard and Cassie was engulfed in a large hug.

"Lucy, Zach," she said hugging Zack after Lucy had pulled away.

"How's England?" Lucy asked, "How's your hot new boyfriend?"

Cassie blushed and glanced behind her where Charlie was standing. "uh, guys, this is Charlie," She said grabbing his hand.

Lucy smiled brightly "It's so nice to meet you, you are WAY hotter than Cassie described."

Charlie gave her a crooked smile and reached out his hand to shake, "you must be Lucy."

* * *

Cassie was watching Sirius, he seemed to be a huge hit with all her old friends. Girls were swooning, even Lucy was flirting shamelessly. Sirius appeared to be entertaining a group with some exaggerated story.

Remus and Erin were standing by the food bar, talking casually with Lucy's mom and Charlie. Cassie had missed this. Everyone seemed so happy celebrating the new year.

"How's England?"

Cassie smiled when she saw her old friend Clay. He had been her first crush when they first moved to Oregon. They drifted apart freshman year of high school, he had been incredibly popular while Cassie was incredibly reserved, even if well liked.

"It's been great, but very different."

"I bet, your uncle makes everything sound amazing. Is it true that you are in an elite boarding school for gifted students?" He asked, more curious than condescending.

"He exaggerates. Believe me, I'm sure half of what he is saying is untrue. I just go to a regular boarding school in Scotland, not elite and not for gifted students."

Clay poured her a glass of punch from the table behind them and handed it to her.

"So this might be a weird completely inappropriately personal question, but why did you move all the way back to England just to go to some boarding school? Wasn't the purpose to be closer to your family?"

Cassie hesitated "Well it was a school my parents went to when they were younger and my Uncles as well… I still see my uncles quite a bit, and I get to see my brother every day."

Clay nodded "I forgot you had a brother, why isn't he here?"

Cassie shrugged "He's staying with my aunt. She didn't want him coming this far, plus she thought I needed this time with my friends."

"Makes sense… why'd you bring your uncle though? He seems to be stealing all of your attention," Clay said jokingly.

Cassie shook her head and laughed "He invited himself... Something about wanting to embarrass me."

* * *

As the night wore on, Cassie found that the room was getting stuffy and suddenly Cassie felt the desperate need to leave the overcrowded house. The living room was full of high schoolers dancing and looking like idiots, while the adults had migrated to the kitchen. Cassie peeked inside and it appeared that the adults had broken into the wine cellar and Lucy's dad was pouring everyone a drink, Charlie included.

Cassie passed them a quick glance before making her way out through the front entrance. She was able to slip out without anyone noticing.

The air was brisk and windy, so Cassie wrapped her scarf and jacket around her as tight as she could, covered her ears with her hair, and made her way down the driveway. Cassie cut across the road and made her way to one of the more familiar trails. She paused only briefly after entering the woods, remembering the incident where she fell asleep in the forest and pressed on. She wasn't tired and knew she'd be fine.

The wind had died down against Cassie's skin, but she could still hear the whistling through the trees. Cassie felt the pull of the sea and continued down the path although she couldn't see the ground below her. She grabbed onto trees and bushes as she walked and took tentative steps, touching the ground to be sure there was nothing that was going to give out underneath her. Although she used to take this trail to the beach frequently, it had been nearly a year since she was last on it.

As she continued the sound of the ocean grew louder and the ground beneath her got softer. Finally, her feet hit sand and Cassie took her shoes off and made her way out of the last of the woods towards the ocean.

The tide was high but not as high as she had seen it before. The water was eerie in the dark, but the reflection of light in the water calmed her.

Cassie found the nearest rock and she sat. It was strange, she was finally home with Remus, Sirius, and her boyfriend, but it was different. It would always be her home, her safe haven, but it no longer felt like the place she belonged. It felt like a distant dream she could see but couldn't reach. No, she could reach it but she knew she shouldn't.

A small sense of dread settled in her stomach, what did it mean if you didn't feel you belonged anywhere? Cassie knew no matter how much she wanted to hit rewind and get to the place where she felt that Florence was where she belonged.

Her mind replayed the dream that she had several months ago "The road ahead will be difficult" Rowena had told her. Cassie could feel it. Life was only going to get more challenging, winding roads were ahead and Cassie knew she would have to face whatever came her way.

"you're not contemplating the temperature of the water, are you? I guarantee you it is too cold to swim."

Cassie smiled largely up at her best friend. Zach was closely behind Jon, helping Lucy down onto the sand.

"No, I don't want to swim… just wanted to watch the water in the moonlight is all."

Jon took a seat beside her, scooting in close.

"I swear you must have excellent night vision in order to be able to see the path," Lucy said, sitting on Cassie's other side and throwing a blanket over the two of them, while Zach sat next to Jon.

"How'd you guys know I was out here? Pretty sure I was far too sneaky for anyone to notice."

Jon nodded "Charlie had been looking for you and we told him we would be able to find you. He seemed worried."

Guilt stirred in Cassie's stomach, she had hoped her absence wouldn't be noticed. She didn't plan on being down here for very long.

"I'm surprised he didn't want to follow you."

"Oh he did, we just assured him we could find you quicker than anyone," Lucy said. "After all these woods are more your home than mine and this was always your getaway."

Cassie nodded and laid back on the sand. Jon and Lucy followed suit a short while later.

They stared at the stars in silence, the sound of the waves crashing on the shore in the background.

Cassie knew it must be nearing midnight. She had debated getting up and going back inside so she could have her New year kiss with Charlie, a sign of all the good to come. But she couldn't get herself up, the feeling deep in her stomach rooted her to the ground where she was with her three best friends.

She knew they'd be friends forever, but somewhere deep inside she knew this was where she needed to be.

"Ten" Zach said, glancing at his watch.

"Nine" the four of them chorused.

"Eight"

Cassie knew nothing would be the same, knew she wouldn't have a moment like this again.

"six"

Cassie knew she needed to cherish this moment with the people who were there for her when no one else was.

"Four"

Cassie sucked in a breath, relishing in that after such a hard childhood, she had been blessed with this place and these people.

"Two"

Deep inside, Cassie knew this was it. She knew there would never be a moment with these people, like this, again.

"One."

"happy new year," the four of them whispered, as though there was a weight on all of their chests. As though they could all feel the difference, the changes that were coming.

On a neighboring beach, they watched as fireworks went off, reaching high into the sky, the four of them linked hands, reminding each other that these were the best days of their lives.

* * *

Cassie and Charlie were sitting on the couch in Cassie's home in Florence. It was nearly 9:00am, but both Remus and Sirius were still sleeping.

"It's hard to explain," Cassie was saying "but I'm glad it was just the four of us last night," she grimaced, not wanting him to take it the wrong way, but he simply smiled at her. "All I mean is it kind of felt final, like although everything's about to change, we'll be the same, frozen in time in the best days of our lives… Does that make sense?"

Charlie squinted at her "hardly, but I think I know what you're getting at."

They sat in silence for a few moments, Charlie was absentmindedly rubbing Cassie's knee with his thumb.

"Do you really think things are about to change?" He asked. "hasn't so much changed already?"

Cassie shrugged "everything's changed, I guess I just feel that I won't have this place anymore… Like Florence will be nothing but a wonderful memory."

"You really don't think you'll come back? Both you and Remus seem happier here. Heck, even Sirius seems happier here."

Cassie shook her head and sat in silence… it was hard to explain. It was one of those gut feelings that people would get when as much as they didn't want to believe that it was true, deep in their gut there was a heart-wrenching pain that said it was.

Cassie and Charlie sat for a while longer before waking up Remus and Sirius to roam the small town of Florence once more. Cassie was resigned, knowing she wouldn't be back for quite some time.


End file.
